Shadows of Intrigue
by Lina-Li1
Summary: Every curse has a beginning. When Kyo starts having nightmares and a familiar looking transfer student shows up, the secrets behind the Sohma family curse will be revealed. Kyoru.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or the characters in it. However, all original characters to appear in this story do belong to me.

A/N: So, welcome to my new fic. I had a hard time coming up with a title I liked that worked with the story. When you start reading it, it won't really sound like the summary or like a Fruits Basket fic, but I promise if you continue to read, you will find that it is the right story. Kyo and Tohru appear in this chapter and my OC will probably show up in the next chapter. Rated for language and some dark themes. Hope you enjoy.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 1 

Two teenage girls were racing through the woods, one pulling the other along by the arm behind her. The girl in back had tears streaming down her face. Even up close, the two girls looked very much alike, especially on a dark, rainy night like this night. One had darker hair than the other, but their facial features were strikingly similar. It was, perhaps, to be expected, though. The two girls were twins, after all.

"Come on, Sis!" the darker-haired twin yelled to her sobbing sister, "We have got to get you away from here, now! We can't let them find you! I don't know how he found out, but I've never seen that man more furious in my life!"

"But I don't want to leave! I want to stay with Kei! I love him!" the crying girl responded.

The first girl turned, exasperated, and retorted, "I know. That's what started this whole mess in the first place. I'll tell you what, though. After you're gone, I'll let Kei know where you are. Then he can go to you and you two can be together, safely away from the rest of that family."

The crying girl stopped, shook off her sister's hand, and wiped the tears from her eyes, "Do you mean that? You'll help Kei and me? But what about…."

"Don't worry about the arrangement. I'm sure they'll let me take your place. I am your twin sister, aren't I?"

"But, I can't let you do that. You don't love the heir any more than I do," the sister with the lighter hair replied.

"But," her sister responded, "I don't love anyone else, either. You do."

Kei's girl shook her head, "You still shouldn't have to do that." Then she took off running on her own. The other girl, surprised by her sister's action, took a moment before she started chasing her twin. She lost sight of her sister in the rainy woods, but the trail of muddy footprints left a path for her to follow. When she did spot her sister again, she stopped short and hid behind a tree. Her sister was not alone. In a small clearing, her sister had been joined by Kei and his entire family. Kei was being restrained by two of the other men.

The head of the family walked up to the trembling girl, who was looking to her love for help. This man, who was nothing like her Kei, began to speak to her, "You disappointed me. You are an ungrateful little tramp. I offer you the chance to wed the man next in line as head of this family and what do you do? You reject him and run off with my bastard cousin. Ad if the fact that he was illegitimate weren't bad enough; his mother was a filthy whore. You have disrespected and disgraced my successor and so have disrespected and disgraced me. Now, you are going to pay for what you have done."

Kei broke free of the grips of the other men and ran to stand between his cousin and the girl he loved, "Please! Leave her alone! It was my fault! If you have to punish anyone, punish me!"

The older man grinned wickedly down at his cousin, "Don't worry, your punishment is coming." Then he hit Kei hard enough to send him flying. When Kei looked up again, the head of the family slit the girl's throat and she fell lifelessly to the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Kyo woke with a start. He had never been one to have his sleep filled with dreams, at least not any he remembered in the morning. But he had not only had a disturbing dream just now, but it had been so vivid. He looked down and noted that he was actually shaking from the aftermath of the dream. He was so stunned by this that it startled him when a knock came on his door, "Kyo? Are you okay? I heard you yell a minute ago."

It was Tohru. Kyo got up and walked over to open the door. When he did so, he found Tohru looking up at him in concern. As she looked into his eyes for a moment, surprise joined the concern in her expression and she gasped, "You're shaking! What's wrong Kyo?"

"It's nothing," he sighed, embarrassed to be seen in such a disturbed state, "I just had a really weird dream. It kinda got to me, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He didn't really, but there was something about Tohru, he just couldn't say no to her, "I don't know. I guess I could try. I don't know if it would help any. I'm not really one to talk much about this kind of stuff."

"That's okay," Tohru told him with a smile, "I just want to be able to help if I can. Let's go down to the kitchen and I'll make us some tea and snacks and you can tell me about the dream if you want to, or we can just sit and eat quietly. Sometimes even that helps."

Kyo smirked, wondering to himself how Tohru always seemed to know exactly what to say and do to make him feel better. She could tell that he was a bit reluctant to talk about his dream so she had basically offered to sit with him, whether he chose to talk or not, until he was able to calm down and relax again. And though she must have seen it, she knew better than to actually comment on how shook up he was, other than pointing out that he was shaking, but that had been out of concern. He looked back at her and realized she was still waiting for his answer so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's head downstairs."

When they got to the kitchen, Tohru fixed tea and riceballs for the two of them, "If this doesn't help, let me know and I'll make some warm sweet milk for you. My mom used to do that for me when I had bead dreams. It's supposed to help you sleep."

"You don't have to do that. This should be plenty. Um…thanks for doing this, for just sitting with me. That actually does help, so, um, thanks."

"Well, I'm glad to be able to help," she smiled at him as she sat down.

Suddenly Kyo realized something, "Oh! No way!"

Tohru looked at him in confusion, "What? What's wrong?"

"In my dream. The girls, there were two of them. They kind of looked like…but that doesn't make any sense. Never mind. Forget I said anything. I wouldn't mean anything anyway. It was just a dream."

Tohru gave him as skeptical look but then nodded and agreed, "Yeah, I guess a lot of dreams don't really make sense. This one time, I had a dream that there were ghosts trying to flood the planet and no one could figure out how to stop them until my friends and I discovered that you could zap them with cell phones and make them all disappear in just a few minutes. Pretty silly, huh?"

Kyo actually laughed out loud, "That's kinda stupid." But he had said it with some affection, to keep from hurting Tohru. He had now all but forgotten his own dream. So, when he finished his tea and riceballs, he thanked Tohru again and headed back upstairs and went to sleep again.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. If I did, I would not need to constantly borrow money from my parents. Or look for a job. It would be nice.

A/N: This was the hard chapter to write because it introduces my OC. I always find that part a little bit challenging. On top of that, I broke my heel (my heel!) and then two days after I got my cast on, I slipped and fell down my front stairs and I got all bruised up and sore. But I'm doing a bit better now and now that my OC has arrived, I can start with the real story. Yay!

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 2 

When Kyo woke up in the morning, he had only vague memories of his dream left. The names and faces wouldn't form in his head. It now seemed ludicrous to him that he had been so shaken up. It really had been just a dream. And it couldn't have been as vivid as he had originally thought or he would surely remember it better this morning.

Mentally shrugging off all thoughts of the dream, he got up, got dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast. When he reached the kitchen, he found only Tohru. So, Shigure and Yuki were not up yet, or at least they weren't ready to come downstairs. When Tohru turned to greet him and asked him is he had slept better after the tea and snacks, he was glad they had the kitchen to themselves. But he also wanted to smack himself. Tohru's face looked really tired. Kyo groaned, knowing it was his fault. He opened his mouth to apologize but was interrupted by Shigure bursting into the room.

"Good morning! My, my, my, Tohru. Something smells delicious. What are we having this morning?"

Kyo, somewhat disgusted with Shigure for being so, for lack of a better word, idiotic, spun around on his heel, only to find himself face to face with Yuki. Kyo saw Yuki start to stagger forward and jumped out of the way before his cousin could use him for support. He stormed over to the table and sat down heavily in his spot. His chance to talk to Tohru about the night before was gone and he was irrationally upset about that.

Despite Kyo's grumpiness, Yuki being half-asleep, Shigure's idiotic banter, and Tohru's lack of energy, the meal went as smoothly as one could ask for in that house. After breakfast, the three teens headed off to school. It was rare these days for the three of them to go together. Yuki seemed to have early meetings all the time. And there were times when Kyo took off on his own before the others, as well. But this day they all walked together, though without much conversation. Kyo would have preferred it if Yuki had gone in early. Now he lost another chance to apologize to Tohru.

Kyo was lost in thought to the point that he didn't realize when someone stepped in front of him. Yuki had to pull his cousin out of the way to keep him from running into the girl and transforming. The girl continued to walk as if she hadn't noticed, but, as she got several steps ahead of the trio, she stopped and turned around briefly, catching Kyo's eyes as she did so. Getting a look at the girl's face, Kyo gasped. It was a face he knew very well. When the girl looked away, Kyo shook his head. He must have just been imagining things.

That's what Kyo thought, anyway, until class started and the teacher announced that there was a new transfer student joining. When the girl entered the room, Kyo noticed several of the other students also seemed jolted by the surprise. The girl, while differing in coloring, bore an eerie resemblance to another student in the class. He face was that of one Miss Tohru Honda. A handful of students turned to look at Tohru, but she appeared just as startled by the newcomer's looks as everyone else. So she wasn't a relative.

The new girl introduced herself as Aiko Hikawa. She had moved overseas with her family when her father's company had transferred him two years ago. They had just recently moved back to Japan. She had one sibling, a younger sister, and she was interested in history, mythology, and astrology.

As she spoke, Kyo stared at her. It wasn't just her resemblance to Tohru. There was something else about her that seemed familiar, too. He felt as if he should some how know her, but at the same time he knew he had never met the girl before. She caught his eye and smiled. Kyo blushed slightly and dropped his head, trying to feign indifference to the girl's presence.

Meanwhile, Yuki was also having the strange feeling that he had know the girl before, although he too was pretty sure he had never actually met her. He tried to shrug the feeling off, telling himself that this Aiko Hikawa just reminded him of Tohru. He wasn't very successful, though. He knew there was something different about this girl. Whenever he glanced at her, he felt a shudder go up his spine. That certainly wasn't something she had in common with Tohru.

Speaking of Tohru, she was also staring at the new girl. The face was so much like hers; she almost thought she was looking in a mirror. But the other face moved independently of her own. And Aiko had shorter, black hair, styled more like Uo's than like Tohru's. But the similarity in facial features made Tohru decide she should talk to her grandfather to see if she had any cousins she didn't know about. It was too much to be merely a coincidence. Then Tohru watched as the girl smiled at Kyo and turned in time to see his reaction. For reasons she could not explain, Tohru found herself starting to get rather annoyed with her look-alike.

The teacher instructed Aiko to take the seat behind Kyo. Kyo's back stiffened at the comment, and Tohru, who was still watching Kyo, felt her irritation with the girl flare up again. But as Aiko walked past her with a friendly smile, Tohru felt some of her anger dissipate. There was some kind of connection there between the two of them and as much as Tohru might like to deny it, she knew it was true. Tohru gave a half-smile in return and watched as the new girl headed toward her seat.

As she walked past Yuki, Aiko paused long enough to meet his eye. Involuntarily, Yuki shivered. Something told him that this girl did not like him one bit. But that was ridiculous. They had never met before. She had no reason to dislike him. He shook his head, thoroughly confused by the negative feeling he got from this girl who looked so much like Tohru. When he returned his gaze to his desk, he saw a note from Hana. It read: _It seems that she doesn't particularly like you. _Yuki sighed. So he wasn't the only one who had noticed.

By this point, Aiko had turned away from Yuki and taken her seat behind Kyo. Kyo, not knowing what else to do, dropped his head to his desk and tried to ignore the girl behind him. He was reasonably successful as accomplishing this until about halfway through the class, when she tapped him on the shoulder.

"What do you want?" Kyo asked sharply.

"No need to bee such a grouch," Aiko pouted, "I dropped my pencil and it rolled under you desk. I was just wondering if you could pick it up for me."

"Oh," Kyo bent to pick up the pencil and handed it back, over his shoulder, without looking back.

Aiko took her pencil then leaned forward to whisper, "Thanks a lot, kitten."

Kyo froze.


	3. chapter 3

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is the property of Natsuki Takaya and does not belong to me.

A/N: I have been really busy since Christmas. I've only had free time again in the last day or so. So, it took me awhile to get this chapter ready. But I should hopefully have more free time now, for a while at least. Also, for those who gave suggestions in reviews for Roses of Glass that I didn't get in time to use in that story, they may be used later on in this story. I meant to mention that when I posted the first chapter. Hana is playing a bigger role in this story than I originally planned.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 3 

At lunchtime, Kyo rushed away from his seat and the girl sitting behind him to join Tohru, Uo, Hana, and Yuki. He had spent the rest of the morning on edge after what Aiko had called him. It was as if she knew about the curse and his transformation, but there was no way she could. She wasn't a Sohma. And Tohru was the only person outside the family who knew about the curse. At least, that's what he had always believed. But Aiko's comment made him begin to wonder if that was really the case. By the time he sat down to lunch, he thought his mind was about to explode.

As Kyo took his seat, the ever-observant Hana asked, "What did she say to you?"

Kyo tried to play it cool as he replied, "What do you mean?"

"That girl, Aiko. When she dropped her pencil and you picked it up, she said something to you. Whatever it was seemed to startle you. So, what did she say?"

Kyo tensed again, causing Yuki to get suspicious, "It was nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

Yuki sent his cousin a questioning glance and received a look in return telling him that it wasn't something to be discussed in present company. Yuki's eyes widened. The first thing to enter his mind that couldn't be discussed openly was the curse. But what could the new girl know about he Sohma curse? It had to be something else. Maybe it was some guy issue. But it didn't make sense that that a girl who had just met them would say something along those lines to Kyo either. He would have to ask Kyo about it later.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice asking, "Do you mind if I join you?"

All the members of the group turned to look at the speaker. It was Aiko. She continued to talk, "It's just that, I don't know anyone here and this girl looks so much like me, I thought it might be kind of fun to get to know her. And he actually kind of reminds me of an old family friend."

She had pointed to Tohru and Kyo, respectively, as she spoke. The girls looked to Kyo for his opinion in answering Aiko's question. But it was Yuki who answered, inviting Aiko to take a seat. If looks could kill, Yuki would have been dead a hundred times over from the glare Kyo sent him. But Yuki, considering the situation a little more rationally than Kyo, realized that if there was any possibility that Aiko knew anything about curse, they had to act as calm and natural as possible, to try to make her doubtful of her knowledge. And that meant allowing a new student looking for some friends to sit with them. Aiko looked somewhat taken aback by Yuki's invitation, but took a seat next to Tohru. When the two were side by side, the resemblance between them was even more astonishing.

Once everyone was seated, introductions began. This went fairly well, despite the fact that Kyo refused to look at Aiko as he introduced himself. Aiko didn't seem to mind terribly and Yuki was somewhat relieved. He had half expected Kyo to refuse to introduce himself at all, since he seemed to be a little bit creeped out by the new girl. Still, Yuki knew that if things continued like this, it would become really awkward for everyone in the group. He looked helplessly around the circle of faces.

Hana was the one who caught on to the meaning of his look. She turned to the newcomer of their group, "So, tell me, Aiko, do you know how to play Rich Man, Poor Man?"

"Sure," Aiko nodded, "I've played it a couple of times before."

"Really?" exclaimed Tohru, "That's perfect. We usually play during lunch. Now you can play with us. I've got my cards over in my desk. I'll be right back."

As Tohru was getting her cards, Uo told Aiko, "Our rule is, losers clean the classroom, by themselves."

Aiko agreed to those terms, and when Tohru returned with the cards, the battle began. It soon became clear that Aiko had probably played more than a couple of times before. Either that or she was incredibly lucky. It seemed more likely that she just really knew what she was doing. One way or the other, she was soon trouncing everyone in the group. She was starting to be able to taste her victory when Yuki, at the last minute, played an unexpectedly good hand and stole the game from her.

Aiko glared at Yuki, yelling, "Why you dirty little rat!"

Kyo, who had begun to relax during the game, tensed again then shot out of his chair. He shot quick glances at Yuki and Tohru, and then took off without saying a word. Tohru looked to Yuki with a face full of confusion and concern. Yuki smiled a reassuring smile and nodded in the direction Kyo had run off. Tohru thanked Yuki with a smile of her own, and then she got up to follow after Kyo.

"What was the matter with him? Is he okay? Should someone else go after him, too?" Aiko asked.

Yuki shook his head, "That's just part of who Kyo is. He'll be fine. He doesn't need everyone to go chasing after him."

"Besides," said Uo, "Tohru went after him. That'll be enough. Orange-top there has a soft spot fro Tohru. If there's something wrong, she's the one he'll talk to."

Aiko gave a slow nod in response and a smile appeared on her face that seemed amused and somehow sad at the same time. It gave her the look of one reminiscing about something long ago forgotten. Yuki and Hana both noticed this and sent each other questioning looks.

Meanwhile, Tohru had now found Kyo on the roof of the school. He was lying down, completely still, with his eyes closed. One might have thought he was asleep if it weren't for the fact that his eyebrows were furrowed in thought. The expression on his face was more like that of someone trying to shake off a bad memory than someone enjoying a peaceful slumber. Not wanting to startle him, Tohru moved slowly to his side and when she spoke his name, she did so in a whispered voice.

Kyo hesitantly opened one eye. Seeing who was next to him, he let out a small breath, "Oh, Tohru. It's just you."

"Were you expecting someone else?"

Kyo shook his head, "No. Not really. I was just afraid it was that new girl. She creeps me out. There's something strange about her. And she sounds kind of like you do. So I was worried that you were her. I'm glad it wasn't her."

"What do you mean? What's strange about her?" Tohru asked, after watching a shiver run up Kyo's spine as he talked about Aiko.

"I'm not sure," Kyo replied, "But there are a couple of things. Her eyes are too intense. It's like she's not looking at you, but into you. And she's a little bit too familiar. She talked to me like she had known me for years. It gives me the creeps but at the same time, I feel like I'm supposed to know her also. And then, I don't know how, but Tohru, I think she might some how know about us. About the Sohmas, I mean. I think she might know about the curse."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I still do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from the anime or manga. I do, however, own the character of Aiko and this particular fanfic.

A/N: I got the Braveheart soundtrack to add to my CD's to listen to while I write. I can't listen to music with words often when I write because it's too distracting a lot of the time. But this one's been really good. Anyway, here is chapter four. Also, I would really like to hear your opinions on who you would like to see as couples in this or upcoming stories.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 4 

"How would she know about the curse?" Tohru asked, "I mean, she just moved back here. And if she had somehow found out before…."

"Akito would have had her memory erased," confirmed Kyo.

"And you're sure you've never actually met her before?"

Kyo shook his head, "I don't think I've met her before. But at the same time, it's like I have a vague feeling that I should know something about her. I guess that means that if I met her, my memory of it got erased. But if that were the case, her memory would definitely have been erased, so she still shouldn't know anything about the curse now."

Kyo and Tohru sat up on the roof, trying to figure out how Aiko could possibly know about the curse. They sat in thought until it was time to go back t class, but neither came up with any answers. Reluctantly, they stood and headed back to the classroom. Kyo was less than happy to find Aiko standing nest to her desk, grinning at him as he made his way back to his seat. He tried to ignore her, but she stepped around in front of him. She bent down so she was face to face with Kyo.

"You sure ran off quickly. Was it something I said?" she asked innocently, "I'm sorry if it was. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to come back and join us, kitten."

Kyo glared up at her, "Stop calling me that. If you call me that again…."

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down! Geez! Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was just trying to be friendly. You remind me of a friend, remember? We, my sister and I, used to call him kitten all the time. It's an affectionate term. It's not meant to be something bad."

Across the room, Tohru was watching the interaction between the orange-haired boy and the new girl. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was watching closely. As the girl brought her face level with Kyo's, Tohru felt herself growing irritated. The girl was being all together too familiar with Kyo. And speaking of Kyo, he was just sitting there while the girl got in his face. Most people would get a none-too-subtle warning to get out of Kyo's space if they tried that. But he was just letting her talk. Tohru perked up a little as she saw Kyo glare at Aiko, but the girl didn't back down. And, after she spoke again, the glare slowly left Kyo's face. Tohru creased her eyebrows, and then turned her gazed away from Kyo and Aiko. She was putting quite a bit of effort into trying to ignore Aiko's behavior.

The conversation between Kyo and Aiko had not, however, stopped simply because they no longer had an audience. Well, conversation might not be the correct term. Aiko was doing most of the talking. In fact at this moment, she was tilting her head in Tohru's direction and asking, "So, what's the deal with you two? You got a crush on her or something?"

Kyo made no reply but the blush that painted his face was enough of an answer for Aiko.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed, "So, what's the problem? Why haven't you asked her out yet? No, wait; let me guess. Your cousin, his is your cousin right, has a crush on her, also. And you are either afraid that she'll pick him or you don't want to hurt her by making her choose between the two of you. Or both. Or maybe, you've got some deep, dark secret that prevents you from hooking up with her. Ha ha. As if that would be it. That sounds like something out of a movie. Anyway, I think you're worrying over nothing. I don't see how she could choose a guy like that rat over someone like you. I think you'd be surprised to find she might just pick you."

"And what would make you think that?" Kyo asked, trying to sound less interested in the answer than he actually was.

Her answer was mumbled so Kyo could be sure he heard her right. But what he thought he heard made him eve more suspicious of the new girl than he had previously been. What he heard sounded as if she had said, "Because that's what happened with Kei."

Kyo racked his brain trying to remember where he had heard the name Kei recently, but nothing was coming to mind at the moment. He was about to ask Aiko about this Kei person when the teacher started class up again. But class was, at this point, the least of Kyo's worries. He spent the rest of his day trying to get things straight in his head. So many things were plaguing him and they all revolved around the appearance of this new girl. Not to mention how confusing her emotional shifts seemed. One second he could have sworn she had been flirting with him, then she was telling him to confess his feelings to Tohru, then she became all sad and mysterious when she, he thought, spoke of this person named Kei. And despite all the strange things about her, Kyo was feeling less creeped out and more intrigued by Aiko. He had started to get the feeling that maybe he should try to get to know her better. It was as if he believed that by finding out more about this girl, he could answer some of the questions he had about himself, though he had no idea why he might feel that way. Perhaps it was because she already gave the impression of knowing a lot about him.

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever. Kyo sat through the rest of the school day impatiently tapping his pencil on the edge of his desk. He needed to talk to Aiko again. He needed to find out who Kei was, if that's what she had really said. He needed to know how much she knew about the Sohmas. He needed to know…he was getting carried away. Maybe he should just start out by asking about this mysterious Kei and see where that led.

Kyo was so deeply entranced in his pondering and planning that he didn't even notice when the last class of the day ended. He remained seated, staring off into space, until someone tapped him on the shoulder. Jumping slightly, Kyo looked up to see Tohru frowning down at him with concern written on her face.

"Hey, Kyo," she said as he looked up, "Class is over. It's time to go home."

Kyo stared at Tohru for a minute and then shook his head to clear it. He stood up and glanced to the seat behind him. Aiko was already gone. Kyo, looking back to Tohru, nodded at the empty seat, "Where did she go?"

Tohru shook her head, "I don't know. She took off pretty quickly as soon as class was over. I tried to ask her if she wanted to do something with Uo, Hana, and me but she said she was busy today. She seemed almost embarrassed about something, like she was trying to run away."

Kyo seemed to consider this for a moment before grabbing his belongings and running at full speed out of the classroom, leaving Tohru staring after him. Kyo ran as fast as he could, trying to find Aiko. He was using his instincts to serve as directions; since he didn't actually know which way she had gone. Luckily, his instincts did not mislead him and he caught up to Aiko as she reached the gate of what he assumed was her house. He stopped her with a hand her shoulder.

"Wait up!" he yelled, "I've got a few things I wanna ask you."

His voice trailed off as he looked up at the building in front of him. It was a large place, though not as large as the Sohma main house. Still, Aiko obviously came from a family with money. However, this is not what stopped Kyo. He was struck instead with a peculiar sense of déjà vu. He had been her before. Except the truth was, Kyo had never seen this place. He had never been even really been near here.

"What did you want to ask?" was Aiko's return question.

Kyo returned to the present, "I want to know about Kei. Who is he? Why do I know that name? Why do you? What does he have to do with me?"

Aiko gave a sad smile, "I can't tell you, now. But you know the answer to all these questions yourself. You've just forgotten them."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't have anything resembling ownership of Fruits Basket. It does not belong to me.

A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry to those of you who were hoping to find out more of what was going on with Kyo and Aiko. That doesn't happen in this chapter. I will get to that, but I need to include the other characters too and it fits best to do it this way. And this brings in Hatori, who will actually end up playing a big part in the story. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 5 

Tohru, left standing by Kyo's empty desk, tried not to feel any of the emotions she was feeling after watching Kyo go chasing off after another girl. After all, she really had no claim on him. It wasn't like they were dating or anything. It was true that they had gotten closer since she had seen his cat monster form and that she had let herself believe from time to time since then that Kyo maybe had some feelings for her; but they weren't together. So he was free to chase after any girl he wanted to. But despite all these logical reasons that she should not feel hurt and angry and betrayed by Kyo's actions, the fact remained that she did feel all of these things.

The truth was, she felt like crying. But she was supposed to be meeting up with Uo, Hana, Yuki, Momiji, and Haru in front of the school. If she started to cry, they would all want to know what was wrong and she honestly didn't know what to tell them. And if she stayed much longer, one of them would probably come back looking for her, especially since Kyo would have had to pass them on his way out. So, Tohru took a deep breath to try to calm herself and then she walked out of the classroom on the way to meet her friends.

Her friends still had questions for her, despite the fact that she was doing a passable job of keeping her emotions in check. Yuki was the first to say anything, asking gently, "What happened, Miss Honda? We saw Kyo leave in a hurry."

"For real," Uo added, "Orange-top took off like a bat out of hell."

"Oh! He, um, decided to try to find Aiko. So, he left quickly hoping to catch up to her I guess," Tohru answered, working carefully to control her voice.

Despite her act, Tohru could feel Hana's eyes on her as the two younger Sohmas joined the conversation, asking who Aiko was and why Kyo would go chasing after her. Leave it to Hana to see past the charade. But Hana remained silent and Tohru flashed her a quick smile, trying to make her believe everything really was fine. Hana simply raised an eyebrow in return. She was not so easily fooled. She knew there was more going on that Tohru wasn't telling the group, but she wasn't the type to press for details.

Tohru felt a tug on her arm and moved her gaze away from Hana to see what was going on. Yuki had grabbed a hold of her wrist, trying to pull her away, "Come on, Miss Honda. We should head home now. I think Shigure will want to hear about this."

He spoke lightly enough but Tohru understood. Kyo had gone chasing off after a girl who may or may not know about the Sohma family curse. It was something to be concerned about. If it turned out that she did know anything, it would be a matter that would need to be addressed to the family and, more specifically, Akito. So of course Shigure would have to hear of it. And, Tohru realized, since she knew more about the situation than Yuki did, she was going to have to be the one to tell Shigure. Her shoulders slumped a bit but she nodded, "Yeah. Okay. Let's go."

Before leading Tohru away, Yuki turned to his cousins, "Are you guys going to come along or are you heading back to the main house?"

Haru and Momiji looked at each other. It was clear that their curiosity was going to win out over courtesy. They wanted to know exactly what was going on. So it was not really a surprise when Haru grabbed Yuki's sleeve and said, "We're coming with you."

Tohru spent the walk home trying to calm her nerves. She was upset about the situation and nervous about having to be the one to explain it to Shigure. Not that she thought Shigure was going to get upset, but it was a serious matter so it was a bit nerve-wracking. So it was left to Yuki to field the stream of questions coming from Momiji. He did the best he could considering he did not know the answers to most of the questions. But Tohru was paying no attention, leaving him the only one who could tell Momiji anything at all. Tohru's silence did not go unnoticed by any of the boys, but they all thought it better to just leave her be until they reached the house. No doubt she needed to organize her thoughts and consider exactly what needed to be said, not to mention the best way to say it.

When they reached the house, Tohru stopped and stared up at the door, letting out a bit of a sigh. Yuki gave her a small nudge. When she looked up at him, he gave her the best encouraging smile he could muster. He wanted to reassure her, but the truth was, he did not envy her one bit the task she was about to perform. Matters such as this were never simple in the Sohma family and she was now caught right in the middle of it. The most he could do for her was help supply the little bit of information that he knew and pray that she wouldn't have to go before Akito with this information. He watched as Tohru turned back towards the house, took a deep breath and moved forward to take on a task he knew she couldn't be looking forward to.

When they went inside, the group went directly to Shigure's study. Shigure looked up from whatever he had been doing, "Ah! Momiji and Haru. What a pleasant surprise. To what do we owe this visit? And where is Kyo? Is he off sulking on the roof again?"

"Actually," Yuki answered, "Kyo's not here. That's why we came to talk to you. There was a new girl at school today. Kyo's apparently with her. But more importantly, she may know about the curse."

Shigure's eyebrows shot up and he motioned for everyone to sit down. Tohru and Yuki took their seats directly across from Shigure while Haru and Momiji moved off to the side. Tohru explained the situation as best she could, with Yuki adding details every once in awhile. Glancing around, Yuki took in everyone's reaction to the story. Shigure's face was uncharacteristically thoughtful and serious. Haru appeared to remain fairly apathetic but with an occasional flash in his eye that belied his disinterested expression. Momiji was the only one who was openly fascinated by the story. Every time Yuki looked over, it seemed Momiji's eyes had grown larger. Yuki was glad when the story ended. He didn't really thing Momiji's eyes could widen much more and he didn't want to see what happened when they reached their limit.

When Tohru did finish speaking, Shigure sat back and closed his eyes for a minute, and then he leaned forward, putting his hand over his mouth and glancing up in thought. Finally, he let out a long breath and gave Tohru a weak smile, "Well, this certainly is an interesting little predicament. I'm not entirely sure what to say. I guess the first thing to do would be to call Hari and inform him of the situation."

Shigure then got up and went to the phone. A few moments later, Hatori picked up on the other end of the line. "Hello, Hari?" Shigure began, "I've just been informed by Tohru and Yuki that we may have a bit of a situation involving Kyo and a new girl at their school. He apparently took off after her when the school let out. But earlier in the day, Kyo told Tohru that he suspected, from things this girl had said, that she might actually somehow know about the curse. Anyway, this girl seems to have taken a bit of a liking to Kyo and is friendly towards Tohru but does not seem to be particularly fond of Yuki. Strange, isn't it? Oh, and the other strange thing. Yuki told me this girl looks…."

"Let me guess," interrupted Hatori, "She looks almost exactly like Tohru, but maybe a little different in coloring?"

For perhaps the first time in his life, Shigure was momentarily speechless. When he could, he asked in a strained voice, "How did you know that?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, own Fruits Basket or the characters from it. I own Aiko, and this fanfic, but nothing more.

A/N: Well, things are going a little better in my family now. My brother is home from the hospital, my cat is home from the vet, and I'm down to once a week physical therapy for my foot (which is better than being at the doctor 3 times a week). And thanks to those of you who wrote hoping that things were getting better. So, I finally had time to finish this chapter. Here it is.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 6 

Kyo turned to head home after Aiko left him to enter her own house. It was a very contemplative walk for him. He had followed her seeking answers and he now returned to Shigure's with more questions. How was it that he was supposed to know who Kei was and what his connection was to Aiko? How had he forgotten? If he was supposed to know the answers to the questions he had asked, was he supposed to know anything else he had forgotten? Why couldn't Aiko tell him the answers to the questions he had asked? How did she know that he should know? His head was spinning with all these questions by the time he reached Shigure's house.

He was surprised to find visitors when he arrived home. Not only were Momiji and Haru still there, but also Hatori had joined the group in order to hear the story directly from Tohru and Yuki. Of course, Kyo had not been expecting any of these guests and was somewhat startled to find twice as many people as there should be at Shigure's house. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with company. On this night, he would much prefer to be left alone with his thoughts. He had enough going on in his head to keep him occupied for the next couple of days.

Kyo would have actually declined to visit and headed straight up to his room if he had not been met at the door by Shigure, wearing an abnormally serious expression, "Kyo, come into my study. We need to talk to you. It's important."

That made Kyo slightly nervous. It sounded like there was some sort of trouble. He couldn't think of anything particularly bad that he had done. And since Tohru was there, it seemed to be a good bet that nothing awful had happened to her, although the mere thought of such a thing turned Kyo's blood cold.

"Kyo, please have a seat," Hatori spoke up as Kyo entered the room, "We're here to discuss a new student at your school; a girl by the name of Aiko Hikawa. I believe you went off with her after school today. We need to figure out how much she knows about the Sohma family and what she plans to do with the information that she does have."

As Hatori spoke, Kyo sent a murderous glance at Yuki, who completely ignored him. Kyo moved his glance to Tohru for information but she refused to meet his eye. He got the distinct feeling that she was upset about something. He couldn't clear his head enough to think of what might have upset her, so he turned his attention back to Hatori, "I know the girl you're talking about. I wanted to know how much she knew, too. That's why I followed her today. She didn't tell me as much as I would have liked, so I can't tell you for sure how much she knows. But I can tell you she knows something. She called Yuki a rat and she called me kitten, twice. Oh, and she keeps comparing me to some guy named Kei, if that means anything to you. When I asked her about it, she said I already knew the answers to my questions but that I had forgotten."

Hatori's visible eye widened momentarily when Kyo mentioned the name Kei although he didn't really seem terribly surprised by what Kyo said. He merely let out a breath and asked, "Has she mentioned anyone else besides this Kei? A couple of girls, perhaps? Another man?"

Kyo shook his head and eyed Hatori suspiciously, "You know who she's talking about, don't you?"

"Possibly," answered Hatori, "I can't say for certain yet. I would like to meet this girl myself and ask her a few questions. Do you think you could talk her into coming over to see me? Or, Tohru, could you ask? Something tells me she'd be more willing to come with you."

"Um, I guess I could try," replied Tohru, looking very much like that was the last thing on earth she wanted to do.

"That's all I can ask of you," Hatori told her, "but I have a suspicion that she'll come with you."

Kyo burst out at this point, "And why the hell is that? What makes you think she would be more likely to go with Tohru than with me or anyone else?"

"Call it intuition," Hatori responded coolly. He caught the brief hurt expression that crossed Tohru's face as Kyo linked himself to Aiko. It angered him slightly that Kyo failed to notice this. If his suspicions about this girl, Aiko, were correct, then it was going to become pertinent that no doubt or mistrust exist between Kyo and Tohru. Kyo's ignorance of Tohru's feelings could ruin everything for Tohru, and quite likely for many of the Sohmas as well. He shook his head and stood up to leave, but stopped at the doorway and turned back to Tohru, "If she agrees to it, bring the girl over tomorrow after school."

"Okay."

Momiji and Haru left with Hatori, leaving the residents of Shigure's household alone. Tohru could not bring herself to look at Kyo. She wished she had to work that night. As it was, she seemed destined to spend an awkward night at home trying to sort through all the unfamiliar emotions she was experiencing. If that weren't bad enough, she would have to go through this in front of the person who was the cause of said emotions. She figured that after dinner, she would shut herself in her room for the night. That would be so much easier that trying to keep up a cheerful, social front all evening.

Tohru's less than chipper mood did not go unnoticed, even by Kyo, who had been rather distracted since meeting Aiko. He sighed to himself as he looked at Tohru out of the corner of his eye. Though he didn't know exactly why, by now he had figured out that he had something to do with her unhappiness. It bothered him to know that but he had absolutely no idea what to do to try to fix it, so, he too was finding it easier to avoid talking to anyone. Following dinner, he retreated to his favorite spot on the roof. He remained out there until he was sure everyone else had gone to bed. He was somewhat disappointed. He had half expected Tohru to come up looking for him, as she so often did in the evenings. Despite his disappointment, he wasn't really surprised. Tohru was definitely upset about something. Kyo, however, was too tired at the moment to keep trying to think things through that night. He moved off the roof, back into his own room, where he promptly fell into an unsettled sleep.

His sleep was unsettled due to the fact that it was again haunted by the dream he had had the previous night. The whole thing played through his head again. The two girls running through the woods. The face-off between the girl and the shadowy man. The young man's pleas. It was all exactly the same as it had been before and, also as before, Kyo awoke instantly as the girl fell to the ground.

The dream seemed even more real this time than he had thought the first time. This time he remembered the name of the young man who had pleaded for the girl's life. It was Kei. That shock caused Kyo to shudder. He tried to review the dream to see if he could grasp any more details or answer any more of his questions. Most of the features of the people were clouded in the darkness, but there was still a sense of familiarity. As he replayed the part where the girl entered the clearing, he focused on her. She glanced about wildly as she realized her situation. Due to this, for a brief moment, her facial features could be clearly seen in the dim moonlight that made its way through the clouds.

When Kyo's mind registered the girl's face, he jumped up and ran out of the room, terrified. He knew who that face belonged to and he had to know that she was still all right. He didn't bother knocking when he reached his destination. He threw open the door in a panic and asked into the empty room, "Tohru? Tohru, are you okay?"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Fruits Basket. I never have and I never will.

A/N: Hey everyone. This chapter came out to be mostly filler but the next chapter will be worth it. Next chapter will show you a lot more about Aiko when she meets with Hatori. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 7 

Tohru sat up, still groggy from having been sound asleep. She glanced around to see what had woken her. What she found was Kyo, standing in her doorway, with fear written on every inch of his face. When he saw her sit up, the fear was partially replaced with relief and he let out a shaky breath. He closed his eyes to calm himself and then asked again, "You're okay? You're not hurt or anything?"

"I'm fine," Tohru answered with a concerned look, "Why? What's the matter, Kyo? You look like you've seen a ghost or something. Are you okay? Come in and tell me what's going on."

Kyo slowly moved to sit on the floor by Tohru's bed. He was surprised when she got out of bed and joined him on the floor. She grabbed a sweater for herself and an extra blanket for Kyo to wrap around his shoulders. She turned to face him with the anxious look still on her face. It struck him as rather odd that she looked so concerned about him when he had come to make sure that she was all right. If he could have seen himself, though, he might have understood her worry a little bit better. The color had drained out of his face and he was slightly shaking.

"What happened?" Tohru prodded again.

Kyo let out a shuddering breath, "I had the dream again. But I could see and remember a bit more this time. The guy's name was Kei, Tohru. Just like Aiko's been talking about."

"Well, it could just be a coincidence," suggested Tohru, "Or you could be imposing things from real life into your dreams. Mom used to tell me that that could happen sometimes."

"I really don't think that's it," Kyo sighed, "But, Tohru, there's more. You remember I told you one of the girls got killed at the end of the dream? Well this time I could see what she looked like. It was just for a second, but I saw her face. Tohru, she looked exactly like you."

Tohru blinked. She didn't know what to say. At least now she understood why Kyo looked so terrified. She imagined she must look much the same at the moment. While, just a moment ago, she had been the one trying to wave off the existence of Kei in the dream, it sent shivers down her back to find out that the same dream also contained the death of a girl who looked exactly like her. It now had her really creeped out. She did not think she was likely to get back to sleep that night. Looking at Kyo, she doubted he was going to be able to sleep again either. After all, he was the one who had actually had the dream; the one who had actually seen the girl get killed. Next to her, he was still shaking.

Despite her own fear, she realized Kyo was probably worse off. She needed to find a way to try to comfort him. She put a hand on top of his head and pulled it down to her shoulder. She was careful not to allow too much of him to touch her. The last thing he needed in his current condition was to be transformed. She sat stroking his hair until he stopped shaking. When she glanced over at him, she found that he had fallen asleep. Tohru looked at him incredulously. His panic must have taken a lot out of him. He now seemed to be utterly at peace. Tohru had to smile, knowing that he was beyond the reach of that terror. She went back to stroking his hair. It was a soothing activity, and without realizing it, Tohru soon fell asleep as well.

The first thing Kyo realized when he woke up the next morning was that he was incredibly sore. The muscles in his neck, particularly, were unusually stiff. He then realized that he was sitting up, and apparently had been all night. He took a quick moment to wonder what his head was resting on before he remembered the events of the night before. When he remembered, he finally opened his eyes, afraid of what he might see. His suspicions were correct. He was still in Tohru's room. He had fallen asleep with his head on Tohru's shoulder. A nervous glance told him that Tohru was still asleep.

Kyo blushed as he shook the shoulder he had been using as a pillow, "Tohru! Wake up!"

"Huh?" responded Tohru, slowly opening her eyes, "What's going on?"

"We fell asleep. It's morning now. What are we going to do? If Shigure or Yuki finds out about this, I'll either never hear the end of it, or that damn rat will start a fight and he'll be really pissed off this time."

Tohru's eyes had grown wide as she fully woke up to Kyo's words. Kyo had spent the night in her room. The thought caused her cheeks to turn red. It did not escape her, however, that Kyo was right. Their top priority was to try to make sure that neither Shigure nor Yuki found out. She knew as well as Kyo what their reactions would be and she really wasn't in the mood to deal with either's response just now. She turned to look at her clock and let out a sigh, "It's still pretty early. Yuki, at least, won't be awake yet. So I think you can probably just be extra quiet. I'll look out first and make sure the hallway's clear."

"Okay," Kyo replied and then he added, "By the way, do you think I should talk to Aiko about the dream? I mean, she seems to be connected to it somehow, or, at least, she seems to know more about various strange things than she should. Maybe she can tell me something."

"No. Not right away, at least," answered Tohru. She didn't like the idea of Kyo running off to Aiko with his problems, "After all, we don't really know anything about her. You don't know that she would help even if she could. I'm supposed to try to take her to Hatori's after school today. Let's see what happens there before we talk to her about this. If you want to tell someone, I think you should tell Hatori. You seemed to think he knew something about this, too, when we were talking to him yesterday."

Kyo nodded, taking in everything Tohru had said. He stood up and reached out a hand to help Tohru up. Together they snuck over to the door. Tohru leaned her head out. The coast was clear. Kyo moved silently out into the hall and to his own room. When he reached his room, he and Tohru both let out sighs of relief. The rest of the morning at the house continued without incidence. It wasn't until they approached the school that Tohru's nerves began to falter again. She was determined to get through the invitation calmly. But the new girl did make her a bit on edge.

Still, when she reached the classroom and spotted Aiko standing next to her desk, looking out the window, Tohru marched over to the other girl and tapped her on the shoulder. When Aiko turned to look at her, Tohru smiled and said, "Good morning! I was wondering if you would like to come with me to a friend's house after school today? I mean, you're new here and you probably haven't had a chance to make a lot of friends yet. I thought it might be nice for both of us if you could meet some of my friends."

Aiko looked thoughtful for a minute. She seemed hesitant to accept the invitation, but finally she looked back to Tohru and nodded, "Thanks. If you really want me to come, I suppose I could. I'm not doing anything else after school today. And then, you and I can get a chance to get to know each other. I was hoping we could become friends. I mean, since we look so much alike, I thought it would be kind of fun. It would almost be like having a twin sister, don't you think?'

Tohru raised an eyebrow. She hadn't thought about it that way, but she smiled anyway and replied, "Yeah, I guess it could be like that."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is the property of Natsuki Takaya. I have no claim to it.

A/N: Hey everyone. Things are settling down again here so hopefully the updates will be a little more consistent. Anyway, like I said last time, this chapter reveals a little bit more about Aiko. And it contains some strong language. I didn't realize how strange it would be writing scenes with Aiko and Akito. But their names are kind of similar so I have to be careful that I put the right name in the right place.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 8 

That afternoon, Tohru led the way as she and Aiko headed off towards Hatori's place at the main house. Aiko was trying to be friendly and make small talk but Tohru, for some reason, found she wasn't in a particularly chatty mood. She didn't know what to say. She knew she should try to be nice and make friends with Aiko, especially since Kyo seemed to be so interested in the girl. They were likely to be spending some time together whether they liked it or not. It would be more pleasant for everyone if she and Aiko got along. But there was something nagging at the back of Tohru's mind; something she didn't like about the new girl. She couldn't put her finger on it. It wasn't as if Aiko had done anything in particular to offend her. The only things did were participate in class and talk to the other students, predominantly Kyo.

They had been walking for a while when Aiko turned to Tohru and commented, "You're not very talkative, are you?"

"Huh?" Tohru answered, "Oh! I'm sorry. I know I'm being kind of rude. I'm usually a lot more talkative than this. Ask anyone at school. I just don't really know what to say to you. And I've got some things on my mind right now, I guess."

"You don't really like me, do you?"

"Oh, no! That's not it. That's not true," Tohru flushed, wondering exactly how Aiko knew what she had been thinking. It made her kind of nervous.

But Aiko laughed, "It's okay. I know what's wrong. You don't like me because you're jealous. You like Kyo, don't you? You don't have to worry. I'm not trying to steal Kyo away from you. I'm not sure I could even if I wanted to, which I don't. There's actually this other guy that I think I kind of like, but I haven't seen him in a long time. But Kyo has questions that I might be able to help answer. That's the only interest I have in him, I swear. So you don't have to hate me. In fact, I hope you don't because I really do want to be friends with you. Maybe someday, you'll understand and want to be friends with me, too."

Tohru felt a strange weight lift off her shoulders but she was also embarrassed by what Aiko had said, "I don't hate you! And I'm not jealous. At least, I don't think I am. Even if I was, you said you aren't interested in Kyo. So why should I hate you? I do want to be friends with you, too. I was just, well, okay, maybe I was a little bit jealous. But I shouldn't have been. Kyo and I aren't going out or anything. We're just friends."

"I'm willing to bet that sometimes you wished you were more, huh?"

Tohru was saved from the embarrassment of having to answer that question by their arrival at the Sohma main house. She stopped in front of the gate and turned to see Aiko's reaction. The other girl raised one eyebrow but didn't seem to be terribly impressed. Tohru was surprised; most people were somewhat awestruck the first time they visited. Aiko merely smirked and tilted her head, indicating that Tohru should lead on.

Aiko followed Tohru through the gate and along the path to their destination. As they reached the door to Hatori's house, they were surprised to have it open up right in front of them. It was not Hatori at the door, though. It was Momiji, on his way out. He had left school before them and beaten them here. He knew they were coming and that it was a private meeting, so he was headed off to visit Kisa and Hiro. Before leaving, however, he told the girls that they were supposed to wait in Hatori's office. Hatori was treating Akito but he would be with them as soon as he could.

They didn't have to wait long. About two minutes after they sat down in the office, the door opened and Hatori walked in. When he saw Aiko, he gave a little, ironic half-smile and said, "So, you must be Aiko. I've been looking forward to seeing you."

Aiko's expression was unreadable as she replied, "I should have guessed. I knew I'd run into you eventually anyway. Why exactly did you want me to come here? It was your idea, wasn't it?"

"I just wanted to ask you some questions," Hatori responded, "By the way, you can call me Hatori."

Tohru was getting very confused. Hatori and Aiko were talking to each other as if they knew each other but they were also introducing themselves. It didn't make sense. Neither did it make sense that the two might actually know each other. None of the other Sohmas has shown any sign of having really known Aiko before she showed up at school. Sure, Kyo had said there was something familiar about her, but he had also said that he couldn't remember having actually met her before. But if Hatori knew her, it seemed that the other Sohmas should, too. And Aiko should have known his name.

Tohru's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened again. Akito stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes wide with surprise at the sight of Aiko. Aiko, in turn, was shooting a venomous glare back at Akito.

"You!" shouted Akito.

At the same time, Aiko demanded, "Why is he here? Did you bring me here to face him? That filthy, disgusting bastard? You know what he did to my family."

Akito grinned a wicked grin at that, "I think it makes more sense for me to ask what you're doing here. After all, I'm the head of this family. I belong here. You're on my property."

"You knew she'd come eventually, Akito. You've known since Tohru started living at Shigure's house," stated Hatori, then, turning toward Aiko, he added, "I did not bring you here to meet with him. It's a coincidence that I happened to be treating him when you arrived."

"Why do you bother treating such a rotten piece of shit? You haven't changed at all, have you? You're still willing to be dragged along by him. Then don't expect to be spared from my hatred."

Tohru and Hatori both stared at Aiko in shock. But Akito merely raised his eyebrows, "My, what a low opinion you hold of me. I would say I'm looking forward to whatever you have planned for us, but I'm afraid it won't happen. Hatori, take care of it. You know what to do." On that note, Akito left to go rest in his own house.

Hatori took a step towards Aiko. Tohru knew what was coming. Akito had ordered Hatori to erase Aiko's memory. She wanted to stop him. She and Aiko were just becoming friends and she wouldn't be able to answer Kyo's questions and she might forget about the guy she liked. But there was nothing Tohru could do. Akito had given an order and Hatori had to follow it. She glanced nervously at Aiko.

Aiko began to laugh, "And what do you think you're doing, Hatori? Trying to erase my memory? That isn't going to happen. You know very well you can't do it. You know because you can't erase your own memory. You've tried, haven't you? Well, I'm like you. I'm immune to that little trick. My memory stays just as it is."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Well, I don't really want to have a mirror broken over my head, so hopefully this update came soon enough. I'm disappointed. I was going to enter my previous fic, Roses of Glass, in the fanfiction contest at the upcoming con in the area, but they changed the rules from last year and my story is twice the limit of the maximum length they'll accept. But what do you do? Also, it seems that swearing is making is becoming more common in this story. If it bothers anyone, sorry, but I feel it's needed for the storyline.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 9 

Tohru stared, disbelievingly at Aiko, "What do you mean? Why are you immune to Hatori's memory erasing? Why do you think he knows? Why do you think he's tried it on himself? Hatori, is what she said true?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Aiko, "Maybe you should stick to one question at a time. I'll start at the beginning. I cannot have my memory erased using Hatori's little magic trick. I can't tell you why. Maybe Hatori can. He knows that he can't erase my memory the same way I know that he can't erase his own memory, but I can't really explain it. You're the same, you know? He can't erase your memory either. But it doesn't matter so much in your case, because you don't remember what they want to erase now anyway."

Tohru turned an inquisitive glance to Hatori, who answered, "It's true. I knew her memory couldn't be erased. And I know my own can't be erased, as well. I've tried it twice before. Once just after the first time I was required to erase someone else's memory and then again after Kana. And she's right about you, too. I can't erase your memory either. Why do you think you were allowed to keep your memories after you first…met the Sohmas?"

"No need to cover it up," Aiko interjected, "I know about the curse. You know that. Isn't that why I'm here? And because you can't erase your own memory, you even know why I know about the curse, don't you? You know how and why the curse was placed on the Sohmas."

Tohru let out a gasp, "Does it have anything to do with Kyo's dream?"

Hatori snapped around to fact her, "What dream?"

"Kyo has been having this dream. He's had it at least two nights in a row. I guess it's more of a nightmare, really. He's told me a little bit about it. There are two girls running in the woods. They get separated and one enters this clearing and there is a whole bunch of other people in the clearing. Anyway, one of the girls was killed at the end of the dream. Last night, Kyo came running into my room to make sure I was okay because he could see the girl's face clearly. He said that she looked like me."

Hatori closed his eyes as if he had a fear that had been confirmed, "Do you know if he remembers the names of faces of anyone else in the dream?"

"He said one of the guys in the clearing was named Kei," Tohru responded, starting to be a little frightened by Hatori's reaction. She turned to Aiko, "Isn't that the name you keep bringing up to him?"

Aiko nodded eagerly, " Yes. It's part of what he wants to know about. I know he still doesn't really remember, but this is more than I hoped for at this point. I wouldn't have begun to guess that he would be able to have dreams guide him. That's amazing. I think that will reduce the time it will take for him to remember and, therefore, to have his questions answered."

"So, are you saying," Tohru verified, "that Kyo's dreams are some kind of memories? That doesn't make sense. Kyo hasn't watched me die. Or you, since you look like me. So, how can he have a memory of something that hasn't happened? I mean, it doesn't sound like he's seen anything from the dream in real life."

Hatori and Aiko exchanged glances. Hatori raised his visible eyebrow and Aiko shrugged and cleared her throat, "It's true, Kyo hasn't actually seen those things happen in real life. But the dream is kind of like a hidden memory. Something he knows, but doesn't know. It holds the key to everything he's wanted to know about himself and the curse. He just needs to remember what he needs to remember."

Tohru was even more mystified by Aiko's cryptic answer but Hatori seemed to understand, "There are people in this family who would prefer it if he never figured this out. They will not be pleased to hear about his dream. They don't want him to remember."

"Well of course they don't!" snapped Aiko, "He can undo what they, or should I say he, has done. And do you really think I give a rat's ass what this particular person thinks? That man is responsible for every negative thing that has happened to your family and to mine. I bet none of the others know either, do they? You've erased all their memories. No wonder the rat seemed surprised that I had no particular friendly feelings towards him. He has no idea who I am."

When she finished, Aiko turned and stormed out of the house. Tohru watched her go and then turned a questioning gaze to Hatori. The doctor shook his head. There would be no more explanations right now. The only certain thing Tohru had taken from this afternoon's visit was that, whatever was going on, she was somehow mixed up right in the middle of it. She hoped in made more sense to someone else. Hatori seemed to be satisfied that he had enough information for now. She couldn't imagine how. But there was obviously something going on that Aiko and Hatori know about that it seemed the other Sohmas did not. It seemed to be something of some importance. And it seemed they did not agree on what to do about it. Tohru was struck with the sudden urge to tell Kyo what she had heard this afternoon so she made her farewells to Hatori and left.

When she got home, Tohru found Kyo up on the roof. She sat down next to him and he turned to her expectantly, waiting to hear what she had found out during her trip to Hatori's. She rehashed the events and conversations that had taken place, trying to explain what little she could. In the end, she had to admit to him that she was probably more confused that she had been before the meeting, "It doesn't make sense to me. And neither Hatori nor Aiko was much help. Every time I asked them anything they would give me such unclear answers that I would have more questions. What does it mean to have a memory of something you haven't seen? How is that possible? And what is it you're supposed to remember? And why might the Sohmas not want you to remember? And why does she seem to know so much about you?"

Kyo shook his head, "I don't know. It all sounds kind of surreal or something. Like it's some big mysterious, mystical thing. The kind of thing that happens in the movies, maybe, but shouldn't happen in real life."

"Oh, you mean kind of like a curse that makes people turn into animals when they hug someone of the opposite sex?" Tohru asked, regaining her sense of humor.

Kyo gave a little snort, "Okay, I see your point. Why should I be surprised? The Sohmas aren't exactly the most normal family. Why shouldn't there be more strangeness that I don't know about? Expect the unexpected. That's getting to be a good phrase to live by in this family."

"I just wish I could tell you more. I don't feel like I'm being much help."

"That's stupid," Kyo retorted, "It may not make sense yet, but you found out more than I did. Now we'll just have to think about it until we can figure out what it means. You're gonna help, right? Cause I can't exactly go to Shigure or that damn rat about this. So, you're helping a lot. I'm just sorry about dragging you into this."

"That's okay. I get the feeling that I was already part of this anyway. I just don't know how," Tohru replied.

"Well then, that's another thing we'll have to figure out."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is not included on the short list of things that I own.

A/N: I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed the story so far. If you also read Roses of Glass, I hope you enjoy this story as well. If you haven't read Roses of Glass, I still hope you're all enjoying this story. It's a bit different from the other stories I've written so I'm glad that you all seem to like it. Thanks again.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 10 

Tohru did not sleep well that night. She was waiting for Kyo to wake up from his nightmare and come running to her. Not that she really minded. In fact, she was kind of pleased that Kyo was willing to confide in her about the whole strange business that seemed to be surrounding his dreams. He had asked for her help while declining to include even Shigure in what was happening. It made her feel good, as if she were really special. It was nice to believe that Kyo thought specially of her, but at the same time, she had to admit that the situation was making her rather tense and causing her to lose sleep.

Even when Tohru did manage to drift off that night, it was the restless sleep of a person on guard, ready to wake instantly if the situation called for it. She woke up several times during the night, each time straining to hear any sounds of indication that Kyo had awakened or was in the middle of his nightmare. Each time she heard only the faint hum of typical nighttime noises, a floorboard creaking or the wind blowing past the window. Each time she found herself relieved, not only that Kyo seemed to have escaped the nightmare for at least one night, but also that there was no school the following day.

Finally, in the early morning, Tohru decided it wasn't worth the effort to try to get back to sleep again. She wouldn't be likely to sleep longer than fifteen minutes anyway. And this way she could get an early start on breakfast and be sure it was ready when the others got up. She hastily threw her hair into a ponytail and changed into one of her few purely comfortable outfits. She didn't feel up to the task of trying to look bright and chipper at the moment.

She left her room to head downstairs. A small shuffling sound from inside Kyo's room made her stop. She stood frozen for a minute, trying to decide what to do. On the one hand, she wanted to make sure that Kyo was all right but, on the other hand, if everything was fine, she didn't want to go rushing in and wake him from what could potentially be a restful sleep for him. As she sat, torn, she asked herself what he would do if their positions were reversed. The answer came to her and she gave a quick nod before taking a step towards Kyo's door.

"Kyo?" she called softly as she gave the door a light knock.

From inside the room, a hoarse voice responded, "Tohru? What are you doing up?"

"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I thought I might as well get up and start breakfast," explained Tohru, "But I heard a shuffling sound coming from your room as I was walking past. Are you okay? Can I come in?"

There was a moment of silence during which Tohru thought Kyo had decided not to answer her, then the door in front of her opened. Tohru took that as an invitation and walked in. Once she was in the room, Kyo shut the door, which he had been standing behind and flipped on the light so that he and Tohru could see each other. Tohru had to hold in a gasp. Kyo looked even more sleep deprived than she felt.

"Kyo! You look awful!" exclaimed Tohru.

"Gee, thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that," she said, "You just look really tired. I don't imagine I look much better, though. I didn't really sleep that well."

Kyo's shoulders drooped as he let out a heavy sigh, "I didn't sleep at all. I didn't want to see that dream again. And I knew if I fell asleep, it would be there. And I think it would just continue to get clearer and more detailed. I didn't want to have to watch all that again. So I didn't let myself fall asleep."

"But what are you planning on doing?" Tohru asked, "You can't just not sleep for the rest of your life. And there has to be some reason that you keep having this dream. Aiko said it was the key to finding out everything you wanted to know about yourself. I know it must be hard, but maybe you need to keep having the dream until we've figured out what it means. And you can always come talk to me about it. Maybe we should go see Hatori again today, too. Maybe he can give you something to help you sleep, even when you have the nightmare."

Kyo looked over at Tohru. He wouldn't say so right now, but she looked like she could benefit from a sleep aid as well. He felt guilty. Tohru had told him that she thought she was involved in this even without his nightmares, but he knew he was at least partially to blame for her exhausted-looking state. After all, he had woken her up two nights in a row and he was pretty sure the reason she had not slept well this past night was that she was worried about him. He hoped she didn't get sick. He would feel wretched if she did.

But Tohru, at the moment, didn't seem the least bit concerned about the possibility of herself getting ill. She had turned back toward the door, "Well, I should probably go get started on breakfast. We can't have everyone going hungry now, can we? After everyone's done eating, I think you and I should go visit Hatori. Does that sound okay to you?"

Tohru didn't actually wait for an answer. She was already heading out the door as she said the last part. Not that Kyo knew how he would have answered. He didn't really want to go see Hatori. But even more he really and truly did not ever want to have that nightmare again, watching Tohru, or her look alike, being killed every night. But Tohru had a point. He couldn't very well go on forever without sleeping. He supposed going to see Hatori was his best bet. At the very least, he figured Hatori couldn't possibly make things any worse.

Another thought occurred to Kyo as he made his way down the stairs to join Tohru in the kitchen. If they went to go see Hatori at the main house, they could not guarantee that none of the other Sohmas would show up looking for Hatori's help. Based on what Tohru had told him she heard from Aiko, it could be bad to let the other Sohmas get a hold of any information about his nightmares. As it was, Momiji, Haru, Shigure, and Yuki knew enough to make him uncomfortable. And Akito was never pleased to find Kyo at the main house. So going to see Hatori might not be the best solution after all.

Luckily this dilemma was solved as the group sat down for breakfast. As Shigure took his seat at the table, he announced, "I'm going to be out for the day today. Apparently I'm supposed to do some research for my book. Can you believe that? I mean, how much work do they expect a poor soul like me to handle?"

Yuki rolled his eyes at Shigure's comment. But he, too, announced his plans to be gone for the day, "The student council is meeting to work out some of the details for the school trip. We're having a hard time agreeing on some of the points, so I'll probably be gone most of the day as well."

When Yuki and Shigure had left, Kyo turned to Tohru, "Look, since the other two are going to be gone for the day, I think if you still want to talk to Hatori about all this, you should ask him to come here. I really don't want to risk the rest of the Sohmas finding out what's been going on."

Tohru stared at Kyo blankly from a moment. When the meaning of his words dawned on her, her eyes widened a bit. She gave a small nod, letting him know that she understood. Then she walked over to the phone and dialed Hatori's number. She explained the new development as Hatori listened patiently. When she finished, his voice on the other end of the line said, "I'm on my way over. We'll see if there's anything we can do about this. Oh, Tohru? Next time you see Aiko, would you let her know that I'm trying to help you and Kyo. Tell her I'm trying to make amends."

"Um, sure," Tohru hung up and stared at the phone with a puzzled frown. She had no idea what Hatori was talking about. Something told her, however, that she would find out. And she had a feeling she would not like the answer.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fruits Basket.

A/N: I had a lot more trouble than usual writing this chapter. I know what the next big thing to happen in the story is and I'm working up to the point that I can write that. I've already kind of stared the build up to it, so it should hopefully show up in the next couple of chapters. I would also like to add, because I'm sure people will wonder after reading this chapter that nothing dirty will happen between Kyo and Tohru. They're both too innocent for that.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 11 

Hatori arrived at Shigure's house to find Kyo and Tohru both looking worse off than he had expected. He was amazed by the fact that they were still managing to hold themselves upright. They seemed to be competing to see who could look the most exhausted. He was somewhat alarmed by this. He was also wondering how their condition had escaped Shigure and Yuki. Well, Shigure he could maybe understand but Yuki was more level headed. It was especially odd considering that Tohru was one of the two concerned. But Shigure had mentioned that Yuki had changed a bit in his relationship with Tohru between joining the student council and the incidence of Kyo's transformation.

Walking up to Kyo, Hatori said, "I hear you've decided to quit sleeping. Not a very practical solution to your problem now, is it?"

Kyo grunted in response.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news for you," continued Hatori, "The good news is, I can give you something that will help you sleep. The bad news is, I can't guarantee that you will stop having your nightmares. But either way, you need to sleep, Kyo. It might help you to go back to Kazuma's house for awhile."

Kyo shot up with astounding speed for someone who looked so tired, "I can't do that!"

Hatori and Tohru both looked at Kyo in surprise. Hatori recovered first and asked, "Why don't you want to go back? I thought you might actually be content with that suggestion. I know you must miss Kazuma sometimes."

"Usually I would like a chance to go back and stay there for awhile." Kyo answered, looking rather embarrassed, "It's just that, well, with everything that's been going on and with what happens in my dream, I kinda want to stay closer to Tohru, so I can always make sure she's okay after I see…you know."

"I see," said Hatori, pausing to think, "What if Tohru were to go with you to Kazuma's? We should be able to arrange that. It's a good safe place. Kazuma has always looked out for you. I'm sure he'll look after you and Tohru until we can get things straightened out."

Kyo stared at Hatori for a moment before turning his gaze to Tohru. She, in turn, was staring back at him. His reason for not wanting to go to Kazuma's had both surprised and pleased her. Now he was asking her a silent question with his eyes. Did she want to go with him to Kazuma's? After his outburst, she knew he wouldn't go without her. She wanted him to go, it might not help him, but at this point she thought anything was worth a try. She glanced at Hatori, who raised his eyebrow in return. Turning back to Kyo, she gave a small, almost unperceivable nod. Kyo gave her a relieved grin in response. It did little to erase the exhaustion from his face. Tohru briefly wondered if she looked that tired, too.

As if reading her mind, Hatori told her, "I'm going to give you something, too, Tohru. You look like you could use it almost as much as Kyo. I'll wait until we get to Kazuma's though. I want you both to go pack a couple of weeks worth of clothes and anything else you might need. I'll drive you over to Kazuma's once you're finished."

Tohru opened her mouth to speak but Hatori anticipated her question, "I'll explain everything to Shigure later. I'll keep quiet about the reason, thought. I think if Kyo wanted Shigure to know about that, he would have told him himself. Don't worry; it shouldn't be a difficult thing to do. It is Shigure, he'll accept whatever I tell him."

Tohru gave Hatori a quick smile before dragging herself up to her room to pack. Kyo followed, even more slowly, behind her. When both had finished packing and returned downstairs, Hatori ushered them out of the house and into his car. The ride to Kazuma's took place in silence. Hatori was not speaking in the hopes that the two teens might get some sleep on the trip. Kyo and Tohru remained silent because they were focusing most of their energy on staying awake. Because of this, the ride seemed to Tohru to take much longer than it actually did.

When they did arrive, Kazuma was waiting outside for them. When he saw Tohru, he gave Hatori a questioning glance, "I see you've brought two guests for me. An unexpected but pleasant surprise. I was only expecting Kyo."

"Kyo refused to come without her," Hatori explained, "I hope you don't mind. It's not going to be a problem, is it? Because I think Kyo's better off here and you know better than anyone how stubborn he can be. Plus, he might have a point. It might be best if he stays close to Tohru."

Kazuma smiled reassuringly at his guests, "I don't mind. It's not a problem, really. I only have the one extra room that used to be Kyo's but Kyo can stay in my room. Or, if he's really adamant about staying close to Tohru, they can share his old room. It's not like anything can really happen, what with the curse and all."

Hatori nodded, "Well, I'll leave that up to the three of you to decide."

It was eventually decided that they would divide Kyo's old room with screens and he and Tohru would sleep there. That way, if Kyo felt the need to check on Tohru, he could do so without disturbing anyone else. Once the screen was in place and Kyo and Tohru were settled in, Hatori administered the sleep aid he had brought. Tohru refused to take hers until Kyo had already fallen asleep. Not only did she want to make sure that he actually got to sleep, she wanted to ask Hatori something, in private. She waited until she received her medication and he was about to leave. She stopped him with a hand on his forearm.

"What is it, Tohru?"

Tohru looked a little unsure but finally spoke up, "You asked me to tell Aiko that you were trying to make amends by helping Kyo and me, right? What are you making amends for?"

"I can't tell you that," answered Hatori, trying to block out the memory that came flooding back at the question, "It would only hurt you. And it could likely turn you against the Sohmas, much like Aiko herself. It has to do with harm inflicted upon another family, a long time ago. And since I am trying to make amends, I would rather not be judged by something that happened in the past. So, that's all I'll say for now. I may have to tell you the whole story someday and I dread that. But for now, I won't"

"Well, then, I have another question," Tohru said, with a concerned frown, "Is Kazuma helping us for the same reason? Its not really important, I just wanted to know."

Hatori's mouth turned up slightly at the corners. Not really enough to be considered a smile, but still a sign of amusement, "Kazuma? No, Kazuma was not involved in the incident. He has nothing to atone for. I imagine he's helping you because he raised Kyo and loves him like a son. It's in his nature to help people in general but I think Kazuma would go so far as to put his life on the line to help Kyo or anyone he cares about, if it ever came to that."

"I'm glad," Tohru yawned, "I'm glad that Kyo has someone who cares that much about him," then she fell asleep.

Hatori looked down on her sleeping face and thought to himself that Kyo actually had at least two people who cared that much about him. More bitterly he realized that Kyo was going to need that.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the Fruits Basket characters.

A/N: I have to start off by saying that while I was writing this chapter I was eating potato leek soup. I just thought that was kind of funny. This chapter is written with the idea in mind that the characters attend school on Saturday. For those of you that read Roses of Glass, I am thinking about starting a sequel to that and am open to title suggestions. By the way, I love all the reviews where people say they are annoyed with or hate Aiko. That's what I want.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 12 

Tohru didn't wake until the next morning. When she did, she snuck over to the screen, wanting to see how Kyo had fared the night. She called his name softly through the screen. When she received no answer, Tohru pushed the edge of the screen inward and peered around it. Tohru smiled at the sight before her. Kyo was still fast asleep, seeming blissfully unaware of the world around him. Not wanting to wake him, Tohru stealthily closed the gap in the screen and moved back to her own side of the room.

When she was washed and dressed, she headed to the kitchen, where she found not only Kazuma, but also Hatori. Both looked up as she entered the room. She gave them a small smile, "Good morning. I'm surprised to see you here again, Hatori."

"Here still, actually," replied Hatori, "I didn't leave yesterday. I wanted to make sure that both of you, but Kyo especially, got enough sleep. I gave Kyo and extra strong dose of that medication but I wanted to be around in case either of you needed more. I'm leaving some here for you to use over the next few days. Is Kyo still asleep?"

Tohru nodded, "He was when I left the room. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully. I guess the nightmares didn't bother him last night."

"Given how exhausted he was and the amount of the drug I administered to him, I imagine he was too deeply asleep to dream. I hate to say it, but I don't think that just because he didn't have the nightmares yesterday or last night that he's seen the last of them. In fact, it's possible that it will become longer, if he continues to use the sleep aid, which I still think he needs to do," Hatori answered.

Tohru gave a small nod of understanding. She had wanted to hear that Kyo's nightmares would be gone, but she knew that hope was unlikely. Still, hearing Hatori confirm her suspicions made them seem so much more real. She felt bad for Kyo. She wanted to be able to take his nightmares from him, to ease his suffering. But that wasn't possible. At a loss for what to say or do next, Tohru let her gaze wander around the room. Her eyes came to rest of the clock and she nearly became hysterical, "Oh, my goodness. The time. School. I'm gonna be late for school. What am I going to do?"

"Calm down, Tohru," Hatori spoke firmly as Kazuma grabbed Tohru's shoulders to stop her from running around the room, "You should stay home today. You don't need to go. Take the day off and continue to rest up."

"I can't do that. I'm feeling much better, really. And I need to talk to Aiko. You wanted me to do that, right? Besides, if Kyo and I are both gone, don't you think it might look funny?"

Both men raised their eyebrows. Kazuma turned to Hatori, "It doesn't look to me like she's going to do much resting if she stays here. And she could disturb Kyo."

Tohru shrunk back in guilt as Hatori sighed, "Fine, I'll drive you to school before I go home. But I want you to take it easy. If you get too tired, I want you to come back here."

"Thank you, Hatori," Tohru almost rushed forward to hug him, but remembered just in time about the curse. Instead, she gave him the biggest smile she could manage. Truth be told, she was still quite tired. But she didn't want to miss school if she wasn't actually sick. She had a promise to keep to her mom, after all.

Tohru began to regret her decision not to stay home as the school day wore on. She was having trouble paying attention. There were a couple of times when she caught herself starting to fall asleep. Aside from the fact that she was more tired than she cared to admit, even to herself, she was worried about Kyo. She hoped he had gotten, or was still getting, enough sleep. She was struck by anxiety as the thought occurred to her that he could have had the nightmare after she left. If he woke up from the nightmare to find her gone, how would he react? Come to think of it, she wondered how he would react to wake and find her gone even if he hadn't had the nightmare. The whole reason she had gone to Kazuma's was because Kyo wanted to stay close to her. And she had gone and left him. She would have told the teacher that she didn't feel well and gone back to Kazuma's house except that she really did want to talk to Aiko. She hadn't had a chance to during lunch because Yuki had wanted an explanation as to why she had gone with Kyo. So now, she had to wait for school to end.

When the final bell rang at last, Tohru hurried over to Aiko's desk and announced, "I have something I want to talk to you about. Let's go someplace more private."

Tohru followed Aiko outside to the space behind the gymnasium. Once there, Aiko turned to Tohru and asked, "Does this have anything to do with Kyo not being here today?"

"No. I mean, not really," Tohru stammered, "It's actually something Hatori wanted me to tell you. But he told me when he came over to take care of Kyo, so, in that sense, it does have to do with why Kyo isn't here."

"So what did he want you to tell me?"

Tohru looked momentarily confused, "What? Oh, he wanted me to let you know that he was helping Kyo and me. He told me to tell you he was trying to make amends. He didn't tell me what for, though."

"Is that so?" asked Aiko, "Well, I suppose I should go have a chat with him. Do you think he's at home now? I would hate to go out of my way for nothing. But I would like to visit as soon as possible."

Tohru nodded, "Yeah, he was going home after he dropped me off this morning. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, that's all right. I'm a big girl. I can handle this on my own. Besides, you should get home. You look exhausted. And I'm sure you're worried about Kyo. He's probably waiting for you. Go on, I'll be fine."

Looking uncertain, Tohru turned and left for Kazuma's house. By the time she got there, Tohru felt ready to crawl into bed again. That wasn't going to happen, though. Kyo was indeed waiting for her. He looked agitated and Tohru assumed she must have guessed right about how he had reacted when he woke up to find she wasn't there.

"Why?" he demanded, "Why did you go to school? When I woke up and you weren't here, I didn't know what to think. Besides, you don't look like you should have gone."

Tohru was almost on the verge of tears, "I'm sorry. I didn't think about what you'd think. I had to talk to Aiko. Hatori asked me to tell her something. She's over at his place now, discussing it with him."

"She what! What if she runs into Akito? She was supposed to have her memory erased. If Akito finds out she didn't, there's gonna be hell to pay. How could you let her go?" Kyo's voice rose in volume with each word.

Tohru recoiled as if Kyo had slapped her. She had been relieved when Aiko had said she had no feelings for Kyo. That had been stupid. Just because Aiko had no interest in him didn't mean that Kyo had no interest in Aiko. It certainly appeared that he cared right now. The tears that Tohru had been holding in spilled over and she raced from the room.

"Damnit!" yelled Kyo, "Why do I always do that?"

Kazuma, having overheard the whole thing, went off to find his ladder. He had a feeling that Kyo would be spending the evening on the roof.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: If there is anyone out there who thinks that I own Fruits Basket, they should get their head checked. Fruits Basket does not belong to me; it is property of Natsuki Takaya.

A/N: I have a busy month coming up so I apologize in advance if my updates start to become a little less consistent. Sakura-con is coming up in two weeks and then I might be moving within a few weeks after that, but I don't know for sure about that yet, which means if I do move, I'll be that much busier because I'll only have a few weeks notice. So, please be understanding and I'll try to keep up my regular schedule as best I can.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 13 

Hatori grumbled to himself as he got up to answer the door. He really wasn't in the mood to treat anyone. By helping Kyo and Tohru, he had managed to deprive himself of sleep the previous night. He had then, against his better judgment, taken Tohru to school this morning. When he returned to his own home, he had found Akito not only seeking treatment, but also demanding an explanation as to where he had been and why he had not informed anyone. After Akito left, Hatori spent the day tending to a series of minor ailments that really hadn't required a doctor's attention. All in all, the day had given him a rather unpleasant headache. So, when he heard the knocking on his door in the late afternoon, it was little wonder Hatori was tempted to pretend he was not home. But there was always the chance that there was an actual emergency. Therefore, with a sigh, he threw open the door.

Hatori blinked. On his doorstep was Aiko, her hand raised to knock again. She raised an eyebrow at him and said, "I'm sorry. You weren't expecting me. Are you surprised to see me?"

"I probably shouldn't be," Hatori answered, "But I admit you aren't exactly who I was expecting."

"Oh? You were expecting someone? If this is a bad time, I suppose I could come back later. I just thought we should talk. I figured sooner would be better than later, but if you're expecting someone…."

Hatori shook his head, "That isn't what I meant what I meant. It's been a long, busy day. I was expecting to find someone coming in with some silly complaint. Wanting me to take a splinter out of their finger or put a bandage on a paper cut or something along those lines."

Aiko looked somewhat amused but did not laugh, "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I came to tell you that I got your message. I talked with Tohru after school. So, you're willing to use her as a messenger but not let her know what's going on. She's involved in this, too, you know."

"I know she's involved. I thought we already established that I remember everything just as you do. But I couldn't tell her. I know I would deserve the worst reaction she could throw at me. But I also believe she wouldn't react that way. Tohru, she's the kind of person who would just grin and forgive. I think that just might be the hardest thing to take."

"Is that why you're helping them, then?" Aiko inquired, "You want to feel more worthy of her forgiveness when she finds out what this is all about? That's fine. I thought you might have gotten it in your head that you would be released form the curse because you were helping them. That can't happen. You cannot be released from the curse until everyone is. Every one of the cursed members has to turn away from their supposed leader before any of you can be free. But the fastest way to make that potentially happen would be…."

Hatori caught on, "To allow history to repeat itself."

"To a point," added Aiko, "We don't want it to end the same. If we can change the ending, we can change everything. The leader can be replaced by the one who should have had that title all along. And everyone can go on to live the lives that they choose and that they deserve."

"And if we can't change the ending? The outcome would be worse for you than for most of the Sohmas. Is it really something you want to risk?" Hatori asked cautiously.

Aiko sent him a sharp look and explained, "Not for the Sohmas in general, it isn't. I wouldn't do this to help your family. But it would help my family as well, if it worked. I can't continue to live with the curse of vengeance that my family bears. It weighs as heavily on me as I'm sure your curse does on you. I would like to be rid of it. Maybe, if I was, I could find my way back to more than one person I once cared about, or should have cared about, depending on how you look at it."

Hatori stared at the girl with amazement. If she meant everything she had just said, she was probably one of the strongest people he had ever met. He wasn't really that surprised. After all, he knew her family history as well as his own. His expression softened by a fraction, "If you've made up your mind, we need to figure out what to do next."

Aiko made a motion that appeared to be waving his comment off, "Oh, I've already thought of that. You need to talk to Akito. You need to tell Akito about Kyo's dreams. That should set everything in motion. Once everything has started, it will be up to you to try to convince the other Sohmas not to side with Akito; otherwise, you know as well as I do what will happen. I don't think you want to see that anymore than I do or you would not have let me know that you were trying to seek atonement."

Hatori gave a brief nod, "I'll do what I can. I have a lot to lose if this doesn't work, too."

Aiko left and Hatori leaned back against the wall. His headache had gotten worse. But he couldn't rest yet. He reluctantly pushed himself away from the wall and went to his closet to grab a jacket. He was just about ready to leave for Akito's when there was another knock at the door. Hatori groaned and took off his jacket before going to answer the door.

This visitor surprised him even more than the last one had, "What are you doing here, Kyo? You should be back at Kazuma's resting."

"Where's Aiko?" demanded Kyo, "Tohru said she was here. That girl is nuts! What does she think she's going to do if Akito sees her here and realizes you didn't erase her memory?"

"Aiko's not here. She left a few minutes ago. I don't think you need to worry about her, anyway. She's quite a strong girl. If there's anyone who could stand up to Akito's wrath, it just might be her."

Kyo stared, dumbfounded, as Hatori continued, "I should ask you where Tohru is. Why isn't she with you? You're the one who wanted to stay close to her, to make sure she was okay. So, now you left her to come here by yourself?"

"We had a fight," Kyo mumbled, "I yelled and she shut herself in the room and I just, I needed to do something. So I came here."

"I bet that's part of what you fought about, isn't it? You being worried about Aiko?" Hatori guessed, "You have a lot to learn, Kyo. Aiko's not here. She's fine. I'm busy; I was just about to head out. You should go back to Kazuma's and talk to Tohru. I think that would be the best thing. Oh, and, Kyo? Try not to upset Tohru too much."

Hatori grabbed his jacket again and ushered Kyo out of his house. It was one more thing to worry about, Kyo and Tohru fighting. He watched as Kyo turned in the direction of Kazuma's house and walked off moodily. Then he turned, his own spirits not that much better, and made his way to Akito's house. The whole way there, he tried to encourage himself that what he was about to do was the right thing. He tried to believe it would all work out. He had not managed to convince himself by the time he reached out to knock on the door to Akito's residence.


	14. Chapter14

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fruits Basket or any of the Fruits Basket characters.

A/N: The first little bit of this chapter actually fits better with the last chapter than with the rest of this chapter so I'm going to label it chapter 13.5. The main part of this chapter will be chapter 14. This is chapter is pretty important to the story so here it is.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapters 13.5 and 14 

**Chapter 13.5**

Hatori sat quietly, watching Akito. He had just finished telling the head of the family about Kyo's dreams. Now he awaited Akito's reaction. H e didn't have to wait long. Akito absorbed the information and broke into a scowl, "We have to stop this! This shouldn't be happening! Why is he able to remember? I have to plan. I know what we'll do. If we have to, we'll just do what was done last time. Hatori, start making the preparations."

Hatori closed his eyes and shook his head. He had known this was coming, but somehow he had hoped it wouldn't come to this. But asking that someone with Akito's soul have a change of heart was an impossible wish. Now Hatori was left to hope he could change the outcome of the path set before him.

Chapter 14 

**Later that night**

The girl slid to the ground. The boy cried out. And Kyo did not wake up. His dream continued on past what he had seen previously.

The remaining sister ran out form behind some bushes as Kei made his way over to the lifeless girl and cradled her body in his arms. The living girl turned to the older man who was walking away. She yelled something to the man that Kei could not understand. The man seemed to know what she said, however, and tensed before turning around to glare at the girl. The girl continued to chant as the other members of Kei's family closed in around her. The chant ended so suddenly that Kei glanced up to see what had happened. His cousin, who had killed the girl he loved, was staring at her sister in shock. The girl's eyes had gone cold and empty, reminding Kei of bits of glass rather than eyes. Her voice, when she spoke again, sounded as if it came from far away, "You killed my sister. Now you and all who have followed you this night are cursed. This curse will follow you throughout the generations until all who follow you turn against you and recognize their true leader."

The leader sneered at the girl, "You curse us? I, in turn, curse Kei. His curse will also follow him through the generations. It will not be broken until the day the curse you have placed on us has also been broken. Until that day, he will never be able to join this family as he has wished to do for so long."

Kyo shot up into a sitting position, breathing in a shuddering gasp. He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head into his hands, trying to erase the memory of what he had just seen. He heard the sliding of the screen and a faint rustle of fabric as Tohru crawled across the floor.

"Kyo?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?"

Kyo shook his head, "Not this time, Tohru. I need to think. I…there was so much more. I don't understand. I need to figure it out. I think I just need to be alone for awhile right now."

By not looking up, Kyo missed the hurt expression on Tohru's face as she backed away, "Oh, okay. If that's what you want. I'll just be going back to my side of the room, then."

Not until he heard the screen slide shut again did Kyo lift his head. He sat in silence for a moment, willing his brain to function as he needed it to. His dream revealed more to him that night than ever before. Not only had it been longer, but it had also been clearer, allowing him to notice more than he had before. Some of what he had seen answered questions, some of it had confused him further, and some of it had simply left him reeling.

Kyo was shocked and horrified to realize that, when he could see clearly in the dream, he recognized the faces of every person who had been in that clearing. It was his own family, or at least all the cursed members of his family. This led Kyo to believe that he new part of his dream had possibly shown him how the curse had started. But that also confused him for the curse had not started in this generation. Therefore, it didn't make sense that the saw the faces he knew from his cousins. Or, if it did somehow make sense, Kyo wondered, did that meant that Kei was….

Kyo shook his head, not wanting to deal with the conclusions he was drawing from that line of thought. Next he thought of the girl who died in his dream. He had never seen it before, but this time he noticed that in the last few seconds before her death, all of her fear seemed to rush away from her. As the blade slit across her throat, her mouth had formed a small, tender smile. This element of the dream not only confused Kyo, it nagged at his mind. Something told him that smile was a very important detail but he had no idea why.

When he had exhausted all his thoughts regarding that piece of the dream, he focused on the last thing he noticed. It was a seemingly insignificant detail, but if his thoughts about it were correct, it might help him learn more about the rest of the dream. This last detail involved the surviving sister. As she had informed the family of the curse she had placed upon them, Kyo notice that for the briefest moment, she had turned a saddened gaze into the crowd that was in the clearing. He felt sure that glance was directed at a particular individual. If that was true, then perhaps she had been lying to her sister when she offered to take her place, marrying the leader's heir. Maybe she, too, had been in love with someone else. If Kyo could find out who that person was, maybe he could use that to gain more information.

Letting out a sigh, Kyo fell back down into a laying position but did not immediately close his eyes. The other nights that he had dreamed this dream, he had not attempted to go back to sleep. He had no idea whether he would dream again or sleep peacefully for the rest of the night if he allowed himself to slip back into slumber. He wasn't even sure whether he could clear his mind enough to sleep again that night. So, he lay on his futon, staring at the ceiling, letting thoughts swim through his head in no discernable order.

On the other side of the partition, Tohru also lay awake, her thoughts coming across in a more organized manner. Kyo had brushed her off. He had had another nightmare, she was sure of that. But something was different. He didn't seem concerned about her when he awoke and he said there had been more. Maybe the dream had revealed to him that there was no reason for him to worry about her. After all, the girl who was killed in his dream had a face identical to her own, but what did that mean? Aiko also had a face identical to hers. That was it. Kyo wasn't concerned about her because he was concerned about Aiko. He had certainly worried enough about her that afternoon.

Tohru felt her eyes begin to sting and squeezed them shut as she rolled onto her side, with her back to the screen that divided the room. She refused to cry. She took several deep breaths to calm herself. Looking out into the darkness of the room, Tohru noticed that everything seemed to have grown still and silent again. Rolling onto her other side, Tohru strained her eyes and ears for any sign of movement on Kyo's side of the partition. Not sensing anything, Tohru crawled to the screen again and peered into Kyo's half of the room.

Kyo had fallen back to sleep. Tohru knew she should feel glad or relieved but she couldn't muster up either emotion. As much as she hated how the nightmares had been affecting Kyo, she saw a silver lining in the two of them being brought closer. But tonight, Kyo had not wanted her to talk to or offer comfort. He dealt with his problem himself and seemed to have done a better job then when he had had her help. The silver lining was growing dim. Tohru didn't want to be stuck inside the cloud. She crawled back to her own futon and forgot her earlier resolution as she softly cried herself to sleep.

Kyo, who had not be as soundly asleep as he appeared, turned towards the partition and whispered in to the dark, "I'm sorry, Tohru. I need to find some answers myself before I drag you farther into this."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. The Fruits Basket series and all characters that appear in it belong to Natsuki Takaya.

A/N: Sorry about the delay of this chapter. Things were kind of hectic last week so I didn't have a chance to update. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that it will be happening again in a few weeks. I'll be without a computer for an as yet undetermined amount of time. So I apologize in advance. Also, for the next few chapters I will be switching off POVs so cliffhangers might not necessarily be answered in the chapter following them, but should be in the one after that. Does that make sense?

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 15 

Kyo eventually managed to fall asleep again and slept well for the rest of the night. When he woke up the next morning, he snuck a peek around the partition to Tohru's side of the room. Tohru was already gone. Kyo tried to shake off the guilt he felt over his behavior the night before. It was ridiculous. He was just trying to protect Tohru. Sure, he had been a bit harsh, but what was that saying about having to be cruel to be kind? He didn't like hurting Tohru but the more his dream revealed to him, the more he felt trying to help him might hurt her.

With a sigh he got up and got ready and then headed downstairs. He was surprised to find that Tohru was not there either. When he asked Kazuma about it, he was told that Tohru had left earlier, saying she had errands to run before school. Kyo looked skeptical but shrugged and ate his breakfast.

On the way to school, Kyo lost himself in his thoughts. The new revelations of his dream had disturbed him to no end. His mind was boggling with all the possible meanings of what he had seen. The more he thought about it, the more confusing theories popped into his head. It was starting to give him a headache but he couldn't stop the seemingly directionless thoughts that were crowding into his brain. The only thing he knew for certain was that he needed to get some answers, fast. He would have to talk to Aiko. This time, he would demand that she tell him everything she knew.

Kyo, being thoroughly absorbed in his meditations, might have missed the school completely had he not run into Haru and Momiji. Under normal circumstances, he would likely have found their presence to be an annoyance but this morning he welcomed the distraction from his thoughts.

"It's rare these days to see you walking to school alone," Haru observed.

"He's right," agreed Momiji, "Why isn't Tohru with you? Why? Why?"

On second thought, maybe the distraction wasn't so welcome after all. Kyo sighed, "She left early for school, said she had some errands to run or something. At least that's what Kazuma told me. She was gone before I got up this morning. And since we've been staying with Kazuma, it makes sense that that damn rat's not here."

"Yuki wouldn't be walking with you guys today anyway," Momiji announced, "Akito called him to the main house this morning."

Kyo's eyes grew wide, "Is that for real? Why? What about?"

"It's true. We passed Yuki heading there on our way here. Don't know what it's about, though. We asked Yuki but he didn't know either," explained Haru.

As glad as he was that it was Yuki and not himself who had been called to the main house, Kyo still felt apprehension that Akito was calling any of the cursed members. He had this feeling, after seeing the new version of his dream, that anything Akito had to do with the other cursed members of the family would somehow relate to the dream. The thought of watching the events of the dream play out in real life made Kyo's blood run cold. As if there was a need, it reaffirmed his resolve to get some answers. Until then, he would have to be on his guard. He would watch out for anything that could lead to such events. He glanced suspiciously at Haru and Momiji. They were, after all, also under the zodiac curse. They had been in the dream, as well. What role did they play? How much did they know? Kyo could feel a mild paranoia growing inside him. The sooner he got some answers, the better. Otherwise he felt he might grow too suspicious of his own family to help prevent whatever was going to happen. That is, if anything was going to happen. He didn't even know that for sure. It was all too much. He would be lucky if he could hold onto his sanity throughout whatever he was facing.

Kyo mumbled some excuse under his breath and took off, wanting to get far away from his cousins. He wouldn't leave school because he needed to talk to Aiko. The logical choice then, would have been for him to go to his classroom. However, that is not where he immediately went. Kyo went to the place he felt most comfortable, the roof. There he tried to calm down and clear his head a bit before school started. He had just gotten to the point where he didn't feel on the verge of freaking out when the bell rang. Kyo muttered a curse and ran off to the classroom.

The teacher was in the middle of taking attendance when Kyo arrived. He got there just in time to hear his own name being read off the list. After his response, the teacher gave him a brief lecture on punctuality before continuing roll call. Kyo was not surprised when there was no answer after Yuki's name. After all, he had just been informed that Yuki was at the main house. He was however surprised and not a little concerned to discover that Tohru also seemed to be missing from the classroom.

Kyo caught questioning glances from Uo, Hana, and Aiko but all he could do was shrug slightly in response. He didn't know where she was anymore than they did. She had left before him, how could she not be at school? He knew how important school was to her. She wouldn't just casually blow it off. He was getting a very bad feeling about this. The worst thing was, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

Kyo had a difficult time trying to concentrate on class. He was worried about Tohru now. This, combined with the questions he had about his dream, left little room in his head for anything else. To make matters worse, every time he met Aiko's gaze, he got the distinct impression that she was disappointed. He didn't know if she was disappointed in him or whether it came from somewhere else entirely but the feeling was there and it was nagging at him. He tried to act cool and collected. There was no reason to worry Tohru's friends when he had no idea what might be going on. Still, it took nearly every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself from leaping out of his chair to go tearing around town in search of Tohru.

By the time lunch rolled around, Kyo was essentially a nervous wreck, though he thought he was hiding it pretty well. He was not altogether surprised when Uo and Hana approached him, asking where Tohru was.

"It's nothing for you to worry about," he lied, noticing that Aiko had joined their group as well, "She just wore herself out a bit. She needed some rest."

"She did look awfully tired yesterday," remarked Uo, though Hana gave him as skeptical look.

Once he had seemingly convinced Tohru's friends that she was fine and they had left, Aiko took a step closer to Kyo. She leaned in and spoke in a low voice so that no one else would be able to hear her, "That was a nice little story you just told. How long did it take you to come up with that?"

Kyo gaped but Aiko wasn't finished, "So, where is she really?"

"I don't know," admitted Kyo, "She left the house before I got up this morning. Kazuma told me she said she had errands to run on the way to school. But she's not here. I wonder if it has to do with the fight we had last night."

"You fought with her last night!" Aiko stared at him with exasperation then shook her head, "I don't think it has anything to do with that. Do you happen to know where the rat is?"

"Haru and Momiji said he was called to the main house."

Aiko inhaled sharply, "So, it's started."

"What's started!" demanded Kyo, "I think it's time you told me everything you know. I want some answers and I think I deserve them."

Aiko hesitated, then nodded, "You're right. You need to know what's going on. Meet me after school, I'll explain everything."


	16. Chapter16

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Fruits Basket.

A/N: I had a tough time getting through this chapter. It just didn't want to be written. It's getting to the point where most of each chapter is leading up to a revelation at the end, so the first part of each chapter is getting kind of hard to write because I just want to focus on the end of the chapters. Anyway, I should have another chapter up next week, but then I might not for a while after that because I will probably be without a computer. So I hope you enjoy and after next week I will try to update again as soon as possible.

Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 16 

Tohru walked down the street near the school. She had gotten up early and left Kazuma's house to avoid Kyo. But she had done so without a plan. Now she was left with nothing to do. It really was too early to go to school. With a sigh, she wandered into a little park and sat down on a bench. Looking around, she noticed a vending machine in a covered area off to her left and decided to get herself a beverage. When she had retrieved her can of iced green tea Tohru spun around and ran smack into a man's chest.

In a cloud of smoke the man turned into a seahorse. Tohru cried out, "Ah! Hatori! I am so sorry!"

Tohru was quieted a few moments later as Hatori returned to his human form. She managed to spin away and squeeze her eyes shut before she actually saw anything. That was how she remained until Hatori told her it was safe to turn around again. When she turned around, she stared at him for a minute. She rarely saw him away from the other Sohmas. She wondered what he might be doing out in this park and decided to voice her question.

"Actually, I was on my way to Kazuma's to get you when I saw you here," answered Hatori, "Akito would like to see you today."

"Akito? What about? Do you know?"

Hatori looked incredibly uncomfortable as he responded, "I don't know for sure, but I think Yuki has been called there as well. I guess whatever it is about is relevant to both of you."

Tohru gave Hatori a quizzical look. She had a feeling he knew more than he was telling her, but she decided not to press the issue. She had not really known Hatori to be the type to withhold the truth. Therefore, she concluded, if he felt the need to do so, there must be a good reason. After a moment's consideration she nodded and followed him as he turned to leave. She didn't bother to think up what excuse she might use for missing school. She did not expect whatever business Akito had with her to last long enough to make that an issue.

Her mind was changed not long after she arrived. She was ushered into a room outside of Akito's chambers. There was no sign of Akito or Yuki. Tohru turned to question Hatori but found that he was no longer in sight either. Left on her own, Tohru took the time to inspect the room she was in. It was not a large room, especially when compared to the room in which Akito had previously received her. It was, however, a slightly more furnished room containing a small couch, two chairs, a small table, a few large potted plants and a large Japanese style painting on one wall.

After this inspection, Tohru made her way over to one of the chairs and sat down to wait. She sat for what seemed an eternity, alone in the room. As she waited, her nerves started to falter. She had come along, trusting Hatori's judgment and expecting Yuki's presence. The latter was entirely missing and she was beginning to lose faith in the former. Just as Tohru was making up her mind to go find someone and get some answers, the door opened and Yuki stepped into the room. Upon seeing this familiar face, Tohru began to relax until she realized that Yuki looked even more nervous than she felt.

Yuki, for his part, tried to keep up a calm front. He had no more idea than Tohru as to the purpose of their summons. He didn't know but he had been a guest of Akito's before and didn't imagine that the purpose this time could amount to anything pleasant. He still harbored, and probably always would, a deep fear of this relative of his. With as much tranquility as he could muster, Yuki strode to the other chair and sat himself down, facing Tohru.

The two passed an hour in silence. They sat alone in the room, occasionally glancing at each other but neither one venturing to speak. Neither knew what to say and even if they had been able to think of appropriate things to say, both were too nervous to issue words. The hour in that confining room was one of the most intolerable that either Yuki or Tohru had spent in their lives. It was little wonder then, that when the door opened again, both gave startled gasps and jumped in their seats.

The man standing in the doorway was one that Tohru had seen only on rare occasions before and didn't know much about, though he seemed to be particularly close to Akito. This man, called Kureno, motioned for Yuki and her to follow him. Tohru gulped but stood up to comply. As she reached Yuki's side, he grabbed her hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. She, in turn, gave him a weak smile that trembled slightly. The two followed Kureno to Akito's quarters, where the head of the Sohma family sat staring out the window, apparently enthralled in watching birds eat from the feeder hung near the window.

At first Akito gave no acknowledgement of their presence. Finally, a glance their way told them they were noticed. At that sign, Kureno retreated from the room. Akito, still silent, got up from the window seat and walked over to sit lazily before Tohru and Yuki. When no word was spoken, the two younger teens glanced at each other before returning their gaze back to Akito.

Tohru cleared her throat, "You wanted to see us, Akito?"

Akito turned to glare directly at Tohru before nodding, "That's right."

"Do you mind my asking why?" she continued, her voice shaking.

Akito divided a look between her and Yuki, and then gave a slight snort, "You have lived with the Sohmas for a while now, haven't you? You know our secret even though you are an outsider. Did you ever wonder why I allowed you to keep your memory after you discovered our secret, when so many others were denied that opportunity?"

"I did use to wonder," replied Tohru, "but I don't have to now. I know the answer. Hatori can't erase my memory."

Akito and Yuki both gaped at her in surprise, but for different reasons. Finally, Akito gave a short, humorless laugh, "So, you remember, do you? And now the cat is regaining his memory as well."

Tohru shook her head, "I don't what you're talking about. I don't remember anything. This is just what I was told."

"But I remember you," Akito interjected, "Yes, I remember, as does Hatori, and apparently that wretched girl who was here with you. I remember you and I remember what was planned for you, what you refused to accept. That was a threat to this family. Now, unknowingly, you threaten it again. I am going to make sure that doesn't happen."

Akito took a step towards Tohru but Yuki jumped in front of her, "I won't let you hurt Miss Honda."

"Hurt her? I don't intend to hurt her, noted she listens to me this time. I want her to join this family. I will not be the head of this family forever. And until the next child with my curse is born, there shall be an interim leader. For that leader, I have chosen you, Yuki and I now offer Miss Tohru Honda the prestige of being the wife of that leader. I will have to two of you wed each other. As of this moment you are betrothed.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. Updates may still be infrequent or inconsistent for awhile so please bear with me. This chapter explains a lot though, so hopefully you will find it worth the wait.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 17**

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Kyo jumped out of his sea and turned around to look expectantly at Aiko. In return she shook her head and motioned toward the door with her eyes. Impatient, Kyo fought the urge to scream at her that he needed to know what she was going to tell him that instant. After all, she was right. It was probably wasn't going to be a conversation that they wanted everyone to overhear. Taking a deep breath, he followed her as she left the classroom and then the school.

Aiko led Kyo to a small karaoke bar. Kyo gave her a look that was half angry, half bewildered, "What the hell are we doing here! Everything is going crazy and you bring me to sing karaoke!"

"No, stupid," said Aiko, sounding exasperated, "if we rent a room at a karaoke bar, no one is going to hear us or bother us, got it?"

"Yeah I get it. I guess it makes some sense," was Kyo's sullen reply.

"Good. Then come on."

Aiko dragged Kyo into the karaoke bar and then into the room they rented. At this point, Kyo decided he couldn't stand waiting any longer. He jerked free of Aiko's grasp and turned on her, "Okay, I want to know everything you know and I want to know it now."

"Fine, I'll tell you, but you aren't going to like it."

Kyo rolled his eyes, " I already gathered that."

"And you might not believe some of it," Aiko continued.

"Only one way to find out," Kyo answered, starting to get anxious.

"Right. Let's see, where to start?" Aiko began, "Maybe by telling you about your family's curse. Not your own curse, mind you. That's an entirely different story as you will find out. Or at least they were started by different people."

"I know," Kyo was surprised to find himself saying. He was even more surprised to realize that he did, in fact, already know this information.

Aiko gave him a surprised look but continued, "The curse of the cat was actually created by your family a long time ago after they were cursed by…."

Kyo raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. Then something dawned on him, "After they were cursed by YOU."

"Well, yes and no," Aiko said, moving her head from side to side, "in the same way that you are Kei but you aren't. Before I explain more about that, though, it's important that you know the story that led up to the curse. Maybe you know some of it, but please listen anyway. Many generations ago, my family and yours were on good terms. They were equal in wealth and status and all that. At that time, in my family, there were two sisters. They were twins and had grown up with many of the members of the Sohma family. When the girls were sixteen, the head of your family decided that to solidify the alliance between the two families, his chosen heir should marry one of the twins. Neither girl wanted to marry the heir for they were both in love with other men…"

"So I was right," interrupted Kyo.

Aiko paused, once again glancing at him with surprise on her face before continuing, "Unfortunately, the girls were not consulted about their feelings on the matter, not uncommon for the time. Now the sister that was chosen to marry the heir happened to be in love with another Sohma. He, however, was shunned by the head of the family and, therefore, by most of the rest of the family for reasons I will explain soon. This sister was very upset by the news that she was to marry the heir, so the other sister helped plan for her to run away with the man she loved. Unfortunately the head of the Sohma family discovered this plan and killed the girl in front of the man she loved."

"I know," Kyo said again, "I've seen it happen. It plays over and over in my dreams every night. The surviving sister then placed a curse on the rest of the family, who had followed the head that night. In return, the head of the family cursed the boy. And that boy was Kei?"

Aiko nodded in agreement, "That's right. Do you know why Kei was shunned so badly?"

"The head of the family called Kei a bastard and said his mother was a whore," replied Kyo stiffly.

"That's only half true," Aiko explained, "and only half the reason Kei was shunned. It's true that Kei was illegitimate, his mother and father never officially married, but his mother not a whore. She was simply of lower status than the Sohma family. And despite the fact that they were never married, Kei's parents loved each other very much and Kei was listed as his father's official heir. But all that would not have caused Kei any problems had it not been for one other fact. Kei's father was the head of the family when Kei was born, meaning Kei should have been next in line as the head of the family."

Aiko paused, allowing Kyo to absorb this information. She watched his frowning face as he thought over what she had told him so far. Finally he looked at her, "But Kei didn't become the next head of the family."

"No, he didn't," confirmed Aiko, "You see, Kei's father died while Kei was still very young, too young to defend himself. His uncle, next in line, usurped Kei's place at the head of the family, passing the role on to his oldest child when he died. This child, actually almost twenty at the time, knew that Kei was the rightful head of the family but didn't want to give up the power that came with the title. Therefore, Kei was taken from his mother and abused and neglected and otherwise shunned by most of the Sohma family."

"And you are the sister that survived, Tohru's the one that died, and I'm Kei?"

"Sort of. You, Tohru and I and all of the Sohmas living now, or at least all the cursed ones, are what you might call reincarnations of people from that time. I'm not sure that's quite the right description though. We are not exactly the same people and we do not have exactly the same relationships, but we do hold the basic personalities and the memories of our former selves."

"The memories? But you're the only one who remembered, until I stared having those nightmares," stated Kyo.

"Oh, I'm not the only one. Hatori and Akito remember as well. The others don't because they've had the memories of their former selves erased. Except Tohru. She and I are immune to the memory erasing. I think her former self won't let her remember."

Kyo thought for a moment, "If everything you have told me is true, then Akito…?"

Aiko nodded, "He isn't the rightful head of the family. You are."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and the characters from the series belong to Natsuki Takaya, not to me.

A/N: Yay! I got another chapter posted, without it taking too long. The next chapter will go back to Tohru and Yuki before we return to the continuation of this chapter. It will be important to see what is going on there as well. Pleas enjoy.

**Shadows of Intigue**

**Chapter 18**

Kyo stared at Aiko in shock, "I am?"

"That's right," confirmed Aiko, "And if, working together, we can get you back to your rightful place, maybe we can make everything end well this time."

"This time? What do you mean by that?" questioned Kyo.

"History is starting to repeat itself. Neither Tohru not the rat was at school today, correct? And you said the rat had been called to the Sohma main house? I imagine that's where Tohru is as well."

"She what!" Kyo shouted in alarm.

Aiko covered her ears with her hands and glared at Kyo, "Don't worry. The won't hurt her. Not yet. Not until she refuses to marry the heir and runs off with, well, with you."

This did not bring relief to Kyo's face. In fact, a few seconds later, his eyes widened and he asked, with some suspicion, "And who exactly is the heir in this generation? Akito doesn't have any children."

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"Yuki," Kyo stated with a sigh of frustration, "It makes sense. That's why we've always been rivals, isn't it? Even why Kei's curse took the form of the cat? To make sure he would always be rivals with the rat."

Aiko smiled appreciatively, "You catch on quickly."

"But if history is repeating itself, how am I supposed to become the head of the family? You know even better than I do what is supposed to happen. You remember it all from the last time. How do you suggest we go about changing things? Let Tohru marry Yuki? Over my dead body."

"Nice choice of words."

Kyo winced, realizing that it was not, in fact, him who was destined to die over this. But Aiko brushed this off and went on to explain, "Akito is trying to make history repeat itself but there are some differences already. In general, you are more accepted by the Sohmas than Kei was. That could help us a lot. And Hatori will help us. He remembers what happened as well and he feels guilt over it. He will try to convince the others to take our side. Maybe it will work, they all seem attached to Tohru and Hatori has a way of making people listen to him even when they won't listen to anyone else. Also, he has something to lose as well, if history does repeat itself."

"He was the one, wasn't he?" Kyo asked in dawning realization, "The one you were in love with?"

Aiko nodded, "Yes. The me of that time was very much in love with the him of that time."

"And he remembers everything? Then how does Kana fit in?" Kyo wondered aloud.

"Kana? Who's Kana?"

Mentally cursing himself, Kyo explained, "Kana was Hatori's girlfriend at one point. You know his left eye is bad, right? That happened when Akito got mad after Hatori announced that he wanted to marry Kana. At least that's what I've heard. Not long after that, Hatori erased Kana's memory."

"I guess I did hear him mention something about Kana when Tohru took me to visit him. So Tohru knows about Kana? Did the two of them know each other well?" asked Aiko.

"No," replied Kyo, "Hatori told Tohru about Kana. The whole business between Hatori and Kana took place before Tohru came to live with us. I was in junior high, so I guess it was before Tohru knew any of the Sohmas."

Aiko let out a sigh that seemed to be partly relief and partly comprehension. Kyo glanced at her sharply but she paid no attention. Instead she muttered under her breath, "So that's it. I think I understand. Yes, that would make sense."

"What would make sense?"

"Oh, nothing important," she answered, "I'll tell you about it when I know for sure myself."

Kyo huffed, "Fine. Is that everything? If it is, can we go now? I want to go find Tohru. There's no way in hell I'm going to sit by and watch as she marries that damn rat."

"Don't worry about that. They won't get married. Either we will succeed in our plan and she will be free to choose whatever path she wishes, or we will fail and she will die. Either way, you can't go charging to the Sohma house now. If you do, that will likely only speed things up and we won't have time to change anything. She will die and you will have to watch. For now, you have to stay away form Akito as long as possible. I know it will be hard for you, but please, do what I say. I have a feeling Tohru will come to my place after she is allowed to leave the Sohma main house. I think I have figured out what to do after that. Leave it to me, for her sake," Aiko was passionate but still calm in her speech to Kyo.

"But," Kyo started, but stopped as Aiko glared at him, "Fine. But if anything happens to her, I will never forgive you."

"I won't either," Aiko responded softly.

Finally deciding he just might be able to trust her, Kyo gave Aiko an awkward half-grin and wished her good luck. She offered a small smile in return before turning to leave. Kyo stayed where he was for a bit longer, thinking over everything he had learned. He would listen to Aiko because she seemed to know more about the situation than he did and he would be damned if he was going to let history repeat itself. If he could help change things, he would not accept failure as an option, not when there was so much to lose from failing. And so much to gain from succeeding.

If they could change the outcome of what was starting to transpire, and if Aiko was right, then the benefits for him would be threefold. He would be rid of his curse as the cat, he would have the chance to be with Tohru, and he would possibly become the head of the family. Only one of these things truly mattered to him, but if the others came with it, he certainly wasn't going to complain. He could have everything he had ever hoped for and then some.

He finally left, heading back to Kazuma's. With the determination to succeed so strong in him, he felt better than he had since the first nightmare. All that changed, though, as he reached Kazuma's house. Kazuma met him at the door and pleaded, "Kyo, you have to go. You have to get out of here now. Akito is on his way here. He's after you."


	19. Chapter 19

Tohru heard a shocked gasp. Glancing around the room it was a minute before she realized that she was the one who had gasped. Married! To Yuki! She thought it might be a joke but as she looked from Akito to Yuki she saw both their faces were completely serious, though Yuki's held some of the same shock she felt .

Tohru's heart sank as it became obvious that this was no joke. Sure, recently she had begun to entertain thoughts of marrying one of the Sohmas, but not now...and not this Sohma. In the past few weeks she had slowly come to understand that while she really likes Yuki a lot, and thought of him as family, it was Kyo that she truly cared about. Maybe it had always been that way. After all, Kyo was the cat and Tohru would be the first to admit that she'd always had a soft spot for the cat. If she was going to marry a Sohma, she wanted it to be Kyo.

Struggling for a minute, Tohru finally managed to look Akito in the eye and speak up, "I don't mean to sound rude and I don't want you to think that I'm being ungrateful. I'm really happy that you would let me join your family, but I don't think I'm ready to get married just yet."

"Now, I don't think that's the problem," Akito replied with a sly grin, "I think maybe you don't want to marry the person I picked out for you. Just like last time. Honestly, this is so predictable it almost bores me."

Yuki and Tohru turned matching expressions of confusion to Akito but it was Yuki who asked, "What do you mean last time? Have you tried to make Miss Honda marry other people before this?"

Akito's grin grew wider and more malicious, "Oh, you might say that, although I doubt very much that she remembers. Last time we had a chat like this, she rejected the man I chose for her in favor of someone far less suitable." Turnng to Tohru, he added, "I really don't know what you see in that monster."

"He's not a monster!" Tohru yelled, before thinking. She had just admitted that Akito was right and possible put Kyo in daner.

"How can you say that?" asked Akito, "You've seen his true form. He is most definitely a monster."

"That is not his true form! You should know, you did it to him. You can't call him a monster because of something you did!"

Yuki's eyes widened in surprise, Akito's narrowed in suspicion. Glaring at Tohru, the head of the Sohma family demanded, "Why did you say that? You shouldn't know anything about it. What do you remember?"

"I don't know why I said that," answered Tohru, looking as surprised by what she said as Yuki did, "I don't know why Kyo has that form. I don't know anything about his curse, or yours, except that they exist."

At that Akito gave a short laugh that caused shivers to run down Tohru's spine, "You're wrong about that, you know? You may not know exactly how the Sohmas came to be cursed but you know why. You've just forgotten."

"It has something to do with Kyo's nightmares, doesn't it?"

"Ah, yes. The dreams. Hatori told me that Kyo was having nightmares about a past which should be locked away to him. I would imagine, not knowing the details of the dreams, that theyare linked to the beginning of the curse. Does that help you remember, Miss Honda? Maybe we should let you see as well," Akito took a step towards Tohru.

Tohru cowered away from Akito. She knew how much the dreams had frightened Kyo. She didn't really want to witness whatever he had seen. But, maybe, if she knew everything she could be more helpful to him if his nightmares continued.

She was still debating when Yuki stepped in front of her, glaring at Akito, "Leave her alone. She doesn't deserve this."

"Oh, doesn't she?"

Tohru made up her mind. Giving Yuki a comforting smile, she stepped past him and walked right up to Akito, saying, "Show me."

"I give you marks for courage...or stupidity," Akito said, placing a hand on Tohru's forehead.

The outside world fell away as Tohru found herself caught up in a vision that was somewhere between a dream and a memory. She watched the scene play out in terror. She watched the girl with her face die. She heard Kei's anguished cry. She saw the beginning of the curse. When the vision ended and Tohru was fully returned to reality, the look she gave Akito was unlike any that Yuki had ever seen on her face. For the first time ever, Yuki thought Tohru just might be capable of violence. She looked like she would be willing to kill Akito, given the means. Ignoring Yuki completely, Tohru focused her murderous glare on Akito and spat out, " How dare you call Kyo a monster! The only monster that exists in this family is you! I won't do what you tell me to! I love Kyo and I will be with him! I won't let you stop me!"

"We'll see about that."

Tohru huffed and stormed out of the room, with Yuki staring after her. When she was out of sight he turned on Akito, "What did you show her?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Most of it was already buried deep in her memory somewhere. Her memory of it was never erased, after all. That's all for now. You may go now, Yuki."

Yuki stood frozen, a bewildered look on his face. After a moment or two he snapped out of it with a shake of his head. Casting a last glare at Akito, he turned and walked away.

Left alone, Akito began to laugh, a somewhat maniacal sound. These kids. They were so predictable. Well, Yuki's strong instinct to protect Tohru had been something of a surprise. Especially when the girl had confessed to loving someone else. That could prove to be a difficulty. Still, Akito wasn't worried. For the most part, things were gong as planned. For the next phase though, Kyo was needed.

Leaving the room, Akito went in search of Kureno. Finding the man was not difficult and Akito faced him, without a welcoming remark and said, "Kureno, you and I are going to pay a little visit to Kazuma's house. I need to have a little discussion with Kyo."


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from the series.

A/N: Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I have been doing a bit of traveling. For those who don't know, I'm spending a year in Japan. Now that I have vacation, I'm traveling like crazy and will continue to do so, for probably the next month. So, the rest of summer may not have regular updates either. I'm really sorry about that.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 20**

Kazuma's warning had just left his mouth when a figure materialized next to Kyo. Kazuma's eyes grew wide and Kyo tensed. He didn't need to look to know who now stood next to him. The voice in his ear confirmed that it was Akito.

"Hello, cousin," Akito said, voice dripping with disdain, "How have you been? I hear you've been having a bit of trouble sleeping lately. Why didn't you tell me? Maybe I could have done something to help. You know how concerned I am about the welfare of this family."

"You know damn well why I didn't tell you. You're part of the dreams. You, you k-killed…and anyway, what would you have done to help? Had Hatori erase my memory? As horrible as the nightmares are, I prefer to remember. Someone should know the truth. And I know what your idea of concern for my welfare is. It means locking me up for most of my life, away from human contact. At least I now know why you show so much 'concern,'" Kyo's response started in fury but ended in a strangely calm voice.

Akito gave a short laugh, "Yes, you know why now. You know too much, actually. But it wouldn't do any good to erase your memory now. Even if I did, there are still others who know. Hatori and those two girls."

Kyo froze, "Two girls? Tohru knows? I told her about part of the dream but she doesn't know about how the curse started or what lead to the scene in the woods."

"Oh yes she does. I showed her. I let her see what you have seen. Now you have one more thing in common. You share a memory neither of you should have."

Kyo felt his anger rise, "You showed her! You made her watch her own death! And you call me a monster. You're the monster. Only a monster would do something like that. I may change shape, but at least I'm not completely heartless."

"That's funny," Akito remarked with a cold grin, "She said almost the exact same thing, calling me a monster while defending you. She has more spirit than I gave her credit for. She was quite fearless when we…talked today. The things she said to my face; I think you might have liked some of it. For showing such courage, I admire and hate her. But she also insulted me by rejecting the husband I chose for her from my own family. So, my hatred wins out in the end."

"Where is she? What did you do to her?" demanded Kyo.

Akito looked Ko straight in the eye, "I haven't done anything to her, except show her the past. At least I haven't, yet. As to where she is right now, I can't tell you for sure, but I know where she will be. I'm on my way there now. I want you to come along with me."

Before Kyo could reply, his arms were caught behind his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that it was Kureno who restrained him. Kyo tried to struggle but, at that moment, Kureno seemed to possess an almost super human strength. It didn't help that Kyo's thoughts were not entirely on his fight, but divided by a fear for Tohru, memories of the nightmares, and the conversation still going on between Akito and Kazuma. As hard as he tried, Kyo couldn't focus all of his thoughts and energy into his struggle against Kazuma. He stopped resisting as the conversation between Akito and Kazuma became more clear.

"I don't care if you are the head of the family," Kazuma was saying, "I won't allow you to come to my house and behave this way. Let Kyo go. He is my son, he belongs here."

Kyo's eyes widened at Kazuma's words but Akito made a small snorting noise, "Your son? He is not really your son and even if he were, I still wouldn't understand why you would go through so much trouble for him. He is the cat, an outcast. He should be grateful I let him alone for this long."

Before Kazuma could reply, Kyo cried out, "Grateful! You think I should be grateful! I know the truth now, remember? Why should I be grateful that you took what was mine, more than once?"

At a nod from Akito, Kureno covered Kyo's mouth. Enough people know the truth already. There was no need to involve a non-zodiac member of the family, especially one who had a soft spot for the cat. With another nod, Akito instructed Kureno to start dragging Kyo away.

Kazuma stepped forward, glaring at Akito, "I know you don't understand why I care about Kyo, but if you're going to drag him off, will you at least let me say good-bye to him?"

Akito snorted again but reluctantly allowed Kazuma to approach Kyo. Reaching his adopted son, Kazuma placed his hands on Kyo's shoulders and lowered his head a little to meet Kyo eye to eye, "I'm sorry. All these years I tried to do what was best for you. I wanted to save you from whatever fate Akito had planned for you. I've seen what happens to those with the curse of the cat before. I wanted to protect you. I've failed now and I'm sorry."

"Don't say that!" snapped Kyo, his eyes wide with surprise after Kazuma's speech, "You've done more for me than my real parents ever did. You took me in and gave me a home when no one else would. This isn't your fault. I think it's from the dreams. You couldn't have done anything to stop it."

Kyo lowered his eyes and dropped his voice as he finished, "But if you want to try to help, find Hatori and tell him what happened."

Kazuma stepped back from Kyo. He didn't nod, but the look he gave told the younger man that he had understood. Kazuma took another step back and Akito brushed past him and gave the command for Kureno to drag Kyo away.

Although Kyo knew what was supposed to happen next, the vow he made after his transformation came back to him, 'Some day I'm gonna be the kind of person my master can be proud to tell the world, I'm his dad.' Remembering that promise he held his head high and his shoulders set all the way to their destination but, even knowing where they were headed, the sight of the clearing made Kyo want to be sick. Shoulders slumping in resignation, he asked, "And now what are you going to do?"

Akito replied, "Now, we wait for the other Sohmas. And for Tohru Honda."


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Neither Fruits Basket or any of the characters from the series belong to me.

A/N: Hello again, from muggy Japan. I back with chapter 21, making this my second story to make it past the 20 chapter mark. I'm really excited about that. I hope after this chapter you all want to know what happens next but the next chapter will actually go back and show Kyo's POV at the same time. But we are getting close to a resolution now (I think).

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 21**

Tohru started running once she left the main house. She had no clear notion of where she was going, she only knew she needed to run. She kept running until she suddenly felt the urge to stop. Glancing around, Tohru realized she was in a neighborhood she had never seen before. All of the houses were huge, though perhaps not on the same level as the Sohma main house. She turned to look at the house she stood in front of and stifled a gasp as she saw the name: Hikawa. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had run straight to Aiko's house.

Well, at least Aiko knew what was going on. She might be one of the best people to talk to, given the circumstances. Tohru moved to ring the buzzer at the gate but before her finger made contact with the button, the front door opened and Aiko stepped outside. She only looked mildly surprised to see Tohru standing at the gate and asked, "How did you find this place? You've never been here before, unless you followed Kyo that time he followed me?"

"No," Tohru shook her head, "I was at the Sohma main house and when I left, I just started running. I didn't know where to go and I just kind of ended up here. When I saw the family name on the house, I knew this must be where you lived."

Aiko almost laughed, "You really think there are so few Hikawas? No, I know what you mean. It's like an instinct. After all, we were twins once. I guess it makes sense. Never mind that just now, though. I was just about to go looking for you. When neither you nor the rat showed up at school today, Kyo and I figured Akito must have you. I told Kyo that Akito wouldn't do anything to you yet but he still went ape shit. I made him go home, though. Having him go after you could have been disastrous. Until we figure out what to do, it would be best to make sure that you, him and Akito don't end up in the same place."

"I know," Tohru whispered, her voice heavy with sadness, "I know what could happen. I've seen it. Akito showed me."

"Agh! That horrible wretch of a human being. There is just no end to what that monster will do, is there? I'm really sorry you had to see that. It's got to be pretty disturbing to see your own death."

"That's not what bothered me so much. It was the emotions afterward; the anger and hatred and despair," answered Tohru, "Mom used to tell me that death was easy for the one who dies. It's those left behind who have the hard part. I saw the smile on the girl's face. If history repeats itself, I'm not afraid for myself, but I don't want you to act with the same rage and hatred and I don't want Kyo to experience the same anguish I could hear in Kei's voice. That was Kei, wasn't it? And he is more or less Kyo, right?"

All Aiko could do was nod. Never before had she heard someone so confidently put other people's wellbeing before their own. Even knowing that that was the sort of person Tohru was, it was a shock to hear her speak so plainly about it. But she was pulled out of her state of shock by the ringing of her cell phone.

Tohru watched Aiko's brief phone conversation. From the look of thing, Aiko was not at all pleased by what the caller was saying. Without even knowing what Aiko was hearing, Tohru began to feel her heart pounding. With perhaps the same instinct that had brought her to Aiko's house, Tohru could feel dread rising in her. Whatever plans Aiko had been working on to change things, had somehow been disrupted.

Her fears were confirmed a moment later when Aiko hung up and turned to look at her, "I don't want you to freak out, Tohru, but it appears something has gone wrong. That was Hatori on the phone. He just got a call from Kazuma. Apparently Akito showed up at Kazuma's house this afternoon. Now, don't panic, but, I have to tell you…Akito has Kyo."

The words reached Tohru's ears and without another thought, she turned and took off at a run for the second time that day. Aiko made an attempt to catch Tohru's arm but missed as Tohru's speed increased. With a quick prayer to whoever would listen, Aiko chased off after Tohru.

The two girls were racing through the woods, one chasing frantically after the other. The girl in the lead had tears beginning to well up in her eyes. In the past few minutes, it had begun to rain, making the two girls look even more alike that ever by darkening Tohru's hair until it nearly matched the color of Aiko's. There were still a few differences, but the facial features were startlingly similar. They had, after all, once been twins.

"Tohru," Aiko yelled to the girl in front of her, "We have to get you out of here now! You're heading straight into a trap. We can't let them find you here! I remember the fury from last time. If you keep going, Akito is going to kill you."

"But I can't just leave! I have to find Kyo! I love him!" Tohru responded.

Aiko finally grasped Tohru's arm and pulled her to a halt, "I know. If you remember, that's kind of what started this whole mess in the first place. I'll tell you what, though; if you leave I will find Kyo and help him out. Then, I will send him to you and the two of you can be together, safely away from Akito."

Tohru shook off Aiko's hand and wiped the tears from her eyes, "You'll help Kyo and me? How are you going to do that?"

"I'll take your place in Akito's little plan. I am sort of your twin, right? It should be fine."

"I can't let you do that! You don't love Yuki. And don't tell me you don't love anyone else either because I know better this time," Tohru replied and took off running yet again. Aiko took a moment before she started chasing Tohru. She lost sight of the other girl, but the trial of muddy footprints left a path for her to follow. When she did spot Tohru again, she stopped short. Tohru was not alone in the small clearing. She had been joined by Kyo and the other cursed members of his family. Kyo was being restrained by one of Akito's henchmen.

Akito walked up to Tohru, who was looking to Kyo for help. Akito, so different from the boy she love, began to speak to her, "You have disappointed me. You are an ungrateful little tramp. I offer you a chance to marry Yuki and what do you do? You reject him for that filthy monster. You have disrespected and disgraced me. Now, you are going to have to pay for what you have done."


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of the Fruits Basket characters.

A/N: Hey again. I've been really busy lately. I had some friends visiting last weekend and last week was really crazy as this is a big travel time. It is now the time of O-bon, The Festival of the Dead, in Japan, so lots of people are heading back to their hometowns, but I actually am not traveling anywhere this week, so here is the next chapter.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 22**

The other Sohmas arrived one by one. Some cast sympathetic glances towards him but, Kyo noted, most of them arrived either without expression or with looks of confusion. They seemed to Kyo to be silently asking each other why they were there. He figured most of them would assume that he had somehow angered Akito and they had been called to watch his punishment as an example of what Akito could do to them.

One reaction surprised Kyo. That was Yuki's. Kyo wouldn't have been surprised to see Yuki amongst the stone-faced observers. In fact, he wouldn't have been terribly surprised to see Yuki looking somewhat smug about the situation. Neither of these was what he had seen, however. When Yuki arrived in the clearing, his eyes had widened and he moved as if to help Kyo, until he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Moving his gaze upward from the hand on Yuki's shoulder, Kyo found Hatori staring back at him, face completely serious. Kyo sent Hatori a questioning glare but the older man's expression didn't change for a second and Kyo began to wonder if Hatori had really meant to help or if he had been waiting to betray him and Tohru the whole time.

He didn't have much time to wonder though because Ritsu, the last of the zodiac members, had just arrived and was apologizing profusely to Akito for his tardiness. Akito, in return, sneered at Ritsu and said in a loud, rude voice, "Oh, shut up. You're not late. The girls haven't arrived yet. Get over there with the others."

Still apologizing, Ritsu made his way over to the other Sohmas and half hid behind Ayame, who, as to be expected, was with Hatori and Shigure and trying to get Yuki's attention. But Yuki's attention was now focused on Akito with a look of hatred unlike anything Kyo had ever seen on his face. It struck Kyo that Yuki did have some idea why the zodiac members had been called to the clearing and he was not happy about it. Kyo felt a brief surge of hope. If Yuki was now on their side, he Tohru, and Aiko might still succeed in changing the future. He was hoping, though, that it wouldn't be necessary. Akito had said that Tohru had now seen the past nightmare. With any luck, she would stay away from the clearing and from Akito. He was afraid that his wishing wouldn't be enough. As much as he wished Tohru would stay away, he had a feeling she would show up, whether she meant to or not.

His fears were confirmed moments later as he heard the sound of someone running through the mud, then a sudden halt. One of the men holding him tried to force Kyo's head down to prevent him from meeting Tohru's eyes but he struggled against the man until the hand was removed from his head. Tohru stood at the edge of the clearing, taking in the whole scene from where she stood. Her expression was a mixture of surprise and fear. Kyo silently cursed her, himself, Aiko, Akito, everyone and everything he could possibly blame for Tohru being in that exact spot at that exact moment. Then Tohru looked directly at him and the change in her expression made him temporarily forget his personal rampage. When Tohru's eyes met his, her expression was one of pure concern. Even knowing what she now did, she appeared to be at least as worried about him as she was about herself. That shocked Kyo more than anything he could remember. Even Kazuma, who had raised him as if Kyo were really his son, never showed such concern. Kyo didn't really doubt that he would, if put in the same circumstances but believing and seeing were two different things. It was a completely new experience to Kyo.

A movement in the trees behind Tohru caught his eye and Kyo glanced away for a moment to see Aiko, partially hidden behind a tree about twenty feet outside of the clearing. When he returned his gaze to Tohru, he found Akito was now approaching her. Beginning to show a little fear for herself again, Tohru looked to Kyo for help, her eyes pleading with him to come to her rescue. Kyo had never felt so powerless in his life. As much as he fought, he couldn't break free of the men who held him. He couldn't get to Tohru. If someone didn't do something soon, he was going to be forced to watch her die. Kyo squeezed his eyes shut against the pain that came with that thought.

He was only half listening to Akito. After all, he already knew, for the most part, what Akito was saying. He had heard it before. He inhaled sharply as Akito spoke the last line, "Now you are going to have to pay for what you have done."

Kyo's eyes snapped open, waiting for the horrible moment he knew was about to come. But Akito's actions were interrupted when Shigure's voice rang out in the darkness that had fallen, "Now, Akito, I think that's enough."

Again, Kyo's attention was briefly pulled away when he noticed movement out tof the corner of his eyes. He had enough time to see Hatori, Yuki, Haru, and Ayame hunched together as if planning something before Akito's response caused him to refocus on the leader of the family, "Shut up! How dare you question me? You are almost as bad as she is. I hope I won't be forced to deal with you as well."

Akito turned from Shigure back to Tohru. Her eyes were clouded with fear but now a degree of defiance showed in them as well. She lifted her chin, exposing her neck to him and Kyo surged forward only to be pulled back by the hands he had all but forgotten were holding him. He watched in horror as Tohru then tilted her head to the side, giving Akito a nice clear shot to slit her throat. Her eyes met Akito's and Kyo thought her voice was remarkably calm, "You want to kill me? Go ahead. I won't try to stop you. I won't struggle. But don't make Kyo watch. I'm the one you're angry with; don't punish him."

A shocked silence went through the group in the clearing and Kyo choked back an actual sob of fear. It was too much for him to handle.

"Of all the insolent little…." Akito started. Kyo caught the motion of Akito's hand and then saw the flash of light as the knife blade came into view reflecting the dim moonlight. Akito's hand lifted into the air, Tohru's face transformed into a soft smile and Kyo's scream echoed through the woods, bouncing back off the trees, "NOOOOOO!"


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and it's characters are property of Natsuki Takaya, not me.

A/N: Wow! I actually managed to update twice in one week. Please don't expect this to become normal. But with four days left entirely to my own devices, I managed to get quite a bit of writing done. I am about halfway finished with the next chapter also, but I start to get busy again tomorrow. Those of you who read Roses of Glass are going to start think I'm obsessed with knives but I swear it's not true. I've written lots of other stories (not all on FFN) and I think these are the only two that use knives at all.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 23**

Kyo didn't realize that he had broken free of his captors until he was halfway to Akito. He didn't spare the time to figure out how it happened though. He had to get across the clearing. He had to get to Tohru. He had to save her. That thought carried Kyo to the spot where Akito and Tohru stood, and then he was dimly aware of a flash of white and a moment of searing pain before there was nothing.

He couldn't see or hear anything so Kyo thought to himself that he must be dead. Something had gone wrong and now he was dead. That was the best explanation. But he had never thought death would be an empty darkness where a person was left alone with their thoughts. And he was becoming aware of a dull ache on his right side. So he must not be dead after all. Well, then, it had happened, he'd been locked up. He might never again see or hear another person. He had been happier when He had thought he was dead. If he was locked away, he must have failed. That meant he wasn't dead…but Tohru was. With each thought Kyo felt worse and worse.

It took him a few moments to realize that it wasn't just his emotional pain that was growing worse. He was in real, physical pain, too. The problem was, in this darkness he had no real sense of his body. He knew he was hurt but he didn't really know where or how badly. He concentrated, trying to force himself to remember exactly what had happened. It was then that he began to hear the voices and think that maybe wasn't actually locked up, either.

"Uh uh! I don't think you're going anywhere. I think the police are on their way here to get you," Kyo thought that was Shigure but he couldn't hear clearly enough to be sure.

"How dare you. Get off of me. I am the head of this family. You'll pay for this!" that was definitely Akito.

"You are not the head of this family and you know it," Kyo heard Aiko reply, "Now everyone else knows it, too. Are they okay?"

Kyo wondered briefly who she meant in the last question but Momiji's voice answered for him, "Whose blood is it? Is it Tohru's? Is it Kyo's?"

"I think it's a little bit of both, but I can't tell for sure until I can see their wounds, now can I?" Hatori answered.

Kagura's hysterical voice was next, "Why didn't he transform? They're dead, aren't they?"

"No, they're not," Hatori again, "But I can't get a good look at their injuries with all of you crowded around. I need some space."

Kyo felt himself being rolled over and suddenly his body became completely real again. He had a splitting headache and he felt a burning sensation running from his ribs, across his arm and onto his back on his right side. Without opening his eyes, he winced at the pain and heard Hatori say, "See, he's starting to wake up. It's not as bad as it looks. Now, let's have a look at Tohru."

At the mention of Tohru's name, Kyo forced himself to open his eyes and turned his head in the direction he perceived the voices to be coming from. At first everything looked fuzzy but as his vision cleared, he could see Hatori bent over Tohru, who lay on the ground, eyes closed and covered with blood. He cried out her name as he tried to sit up but the pain he felt before shot through him again and he cried out in pain as he fell back to the ground, biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut.

When he had recovered enough to attempt opening his eyes again, he found Hatori looking down at him in a reproving manner, "Really, Kyo. I said your wounds weren't as bad as they looked but you're in no condition to be getting up. Stay where you are until we can get you back to my clinic."

Kyo moved his eyes to the side, where Tohru still lay unconscious, "But, Tohru…."

"Tohru will be just fine," Hatori interrupted, "Don't worry. You got there in time. You saved her."

"But," Kyo said again, "how can she be okay? There's so much blood. And she's unconscious. If she's going to be okay, then why isn't she awake?"

"As to her being unconscious, I would say that's partially from shock, partially from pain and perhaps partially from a bit of a concussion. She did hit pretty hard when you threw her to the ground."

"And the blood?" Kyo asked, unsatisfied.

Hatori gave him an amused look as he responded, "I thought you would have guessed that one. It's not all her blood. She's got a bit of a cut that's going to require some stitches to be sure but a lot of that is yours. I imagine you must be feeling a little bit of pain, or hadn't you noticed?"

Kyo's eyes moved to his right side but his energy was sapped and he couldn't lift his head enough to see his injury. He returned his gaze to Hatori and asked, "What exactly happened?"

"Well Yuki, Haru, Ayame and I took the liberety of helping you escape from Akito's henchmen. You ran straight toward Tohru and threw yourself at her, knocking her to the ground with you following after. Unfortunately the timing was a little off so, while Tohru managed to escape having her throat slit, both of you received cuts from Akito's blade. The amount of blood makes it look bad, and I'm sure you'll both be pretty sore for a week or two, but it's nothing too serious. You did it. You prevented history from repeating itself. You saved Tohru and turned the other Sohmas against Akito. They know the truth now and they are willing to side with you. You managed to do what was necessary, not only to save Tohru, but also, I believe, to break the curse. That's why you didn't transform when you fell on Tohru. Akito is being taken into police custody. If you want it, you now have full right to the title of head of the Sohma family and everything that goes with it."

Kyo stared blankly back for a moment, letting all Hatori told him sink in. Tohru was safe. The curse was broken. He was accepted into the family. No not only that, he was to be accepted as the head of the family, if he chose to accept the title himself. At that thought, his expression changed to one of bewilderment.

He heard a chuckle from above him and then Hatori's voice saying, "You don't have to make your decision this instant. In fact, it's probably best if you take some time to think it over. But right now, I think you should try to get some rest. It's been a trying day and, if I'm not mistaken, you haven't had a lot of sleep lately."

Kyo gave what passed for a nod in his current state and allowed himself to slip back into unconsciousness, lulled by Hatori's reassurances into a peaceful slumbr.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters.

A/N: Hello again. I have recently found out that in November I might be able to take a trip that will span the entire length of Japan. I'll start in Sapporo and travel to Kyoto (maybe with a stop in Tokyo). I would stay for maybe a week in Kyoto and a couple of days in Osaka before going on to Okinawa. I'm really excited about it. But, about the story: this is not the last chapter. There will be at least one more chapter maybe a few more. I don't know for sure yet. I won't be able to updated next week though, because I'll be in Hakodate, away from my computer.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 24**

"Kyo? Are you awake, Kyo?"

He wasn't really, yet he could hear the voice calling to him. He couldn't tell who was speaking, only that they were trying to wake him up from a sleep he was reluctant to give up. He struggled against the voice, trying to force himself back into deeper sleep.

"Kyo, please wake up."

This time he recognized the voice and gave up on the idea of sleep, allowing himself to grant her wish and slowly returned to consciousness. When he opened his eyes, his first thought was that he had dreamt of the voice calling him. He didn't immediately see anyone and he was still too groggy to sit up and survey the room. Tohru's voice had sounded close enough that he expected to awaken to the sight of her leaning over him with a look mixed with concern and relief, but all he saw was the ceiling and a light that was altogether too bright for his newly opened eyes.

His confusion was eased as she spoke again. She was not leaning over him, she was somewhere off to his left. Turning his head in that direction, he could see her sitting up in what appeared to be a hospital bed, her face half-turned towards him. She was wearing the expression he had been imagining.

Tohru grinned when Kyo looked at her, "Oh, I'm so glad you're awake. I woke up a little while ago and Hatori told me we'd both been asleep for two days. He told me not to worry about you; that you were only exhausted, but I saw that you were bandaged up, too, so I couldn't help but worry. I'm glad he was right. Are you in a lot of pain?"

"This? This in nothing," Kyo answered, smiling at Tohru's nervous rambling. He tried to push himself up into a seated position and almost fell back down when the pain returned to his right arm as a result of the weight he placed on it. With a grimace, he continued, "At least, it's not anything that's gonna kill me. Where are we?"

"Hatori said this was the back part of his clinic. I didn't know it was so big. It's almost like a regular hospital."

At this point, Kyo began to notice that since he had first looked in here direction, Toru had not turned entirely in his. He got the distinct impression that she was trying to hide something from him. He knew that Akito had managed to cut her. Hatori had told him that much. He knew from everyone's positions that night that her injuries were likely on her left side; the side she wasn't showing him. He wondered if that was what she was hiding. Surely she must know that he knew. Unless it was worse than Hatori had led him to believe. At that thought, Kyo had to suppress his panic so he could speak calmly, "Tohru, look at me."

A confused expression passed over her face, "I am looking at you, Kyo."

"No," he replied, "you're only halfway facing me. I want you to look directly at me. I want to be able to see you, to make sure that you're okay."

Instead of turning to face him, Tohru turned in the opposite direction and wouldn't look at him at all, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry."

"Then look at me!" demanded Kyo, a bit more harshly than he meant to. He saw Tohru tense at his tone of voice and felt regret at having allowed himself to yell. He took a deep breath and repeatd, more calmly this time, "Then look at me. Let me see."

"I can't," Tohru answered, shaking her head.

Kyo was silent for a moment. When he did speak, his voice was barely above a whisper and the tone was completely different from any Tohru had heard him use before, "Fine. I see how it is. I guess I was wrong then. I though…I hoped…but I guess that was stupid. I must look pretty awful, huh? I though it wouldn't bother you, but you're like them, aren't you? You still see me as a monster, too. You can't even bring yourself to look at me."

Tohru's eyes grew wide at Kyo's speech and she finally did turn to face him, to reassure him that she felt no such thing, "Oh, no, Kyo. I'm sorry. I didn't think you would take it that way. You're not a monster to me. You never were. I didn' t look at you because I was afraid of how you would react, but I didn't want to hurt you. Don't you know by now? I love you, Kyo."

Kyo, hurt by Tohru's refusal to face him, had been staring at the floor but finally risked looking up when Tohru spoke the last line. As his gaze landed on her face, Kyo gasped. Now he understood what she had been hiding. The left side of her face had a large scrape and an even larger bruise covering it. Taken completely by surprise, Kyo asked in a much louder voice, "How did that happen? I don't remember Akito hitting you or anything."

Tohru shook her head again and, pointing to her face, answered, "Akito didn't do this. You did. It was an accident. It happened when you saved me, apparently. Hatori said there was probably a rock or something on the ground where I hit. I didn't want you to feel guilty about it. That's why I wasn't looking at you."

"I do feel guilty, though," admitted Kyo, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry I did."

Tohru smiled and slowly slid off her bed and walked across the room to sit on the edge of Kyo's bed. Kyo looked surprised but Tohru had a perfectly calm expression. She smiled at him and leaned forward until their foreheads were resting against each other, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me. You saved my life, Kyo. You have nothing at all to be sorry for."

"Sure I do. I didn't get there fast enough. You still got hurt."

"So did you," Tohru reminded him, "In fact, Hatori told me that you're hurt worse than I am. I am glad that you saved me, but it hurts me to know that you were injured doing it."

"Well, I couldn't really just watch. I had seen what would happen so many times, I knew that seeing it in real life would be a hundred times worse. I mean, yeah, I got hurt, but this cut will heal and then I can get back to training and be stronger than ever. If Akito had killed you, I would have been hurt a lot worse."

Tohru took that as an acknowledgement of Kyo's feelings, which it was. He was still too unsure of himself to say more, but Tohru was able to read between the lines. She put one hand on his shoulder and one behind his head, pulling him into her embrace and held him there, giving him all the reassurances, hope and love that he had not had before. Kyo, meanwhile was reveling in the new feeling of actually being held in a woman's arms.

Some time later, Tohru glanced at the door to the room. Hatori stood there with a look of surprise on his face. After a moment, however, he smiled at the sight before him and backed away, closing the door behind him.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Fruits Basket or any of the characters from Fruits Basket.

A/N: Hi! Sorry this has taken so long. I'm not going to get into my excuses because they are just that, excuses. But anyway, as promised here is another chapter to Shadows of Intrigue. I hope you enjoy.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 25**

Some hours later, Tohru was still sitting on the edge of Kyo's bed when Hatori returned. This time, Aiko was with him. While most of her attention was fixed on Kyo, Tohru did notice, as Hatori and Aiko approached that their fingers were intertwined. That brought a smile to her face and she glanced down and her and Kyo's similarly entwined hands.

This smile was replaced by a look of confusion, however, when Hatori spoke, "Well, Kyo, have you thought things over? Have you decided what you want to do?"

"What are you talking about?" Tohru asked, glancing back and forth between the serious faces of Hatori and Kyo.

Kyo took a deep breath and squeezed her hand before answering, "Akito showed you what happened before, right? So, you know why Kei was originally cast out of the family, even before the curse?"

"Because the head of the family didn't want Kei to take his rightful place as head of the family," answered Tohru, then, after a brief pause, she continued, as realization dawned on her, "Oooh. So, does that mean that Hatori is asking…?"

"If I want to be head of the family," Kyo finished for her.

Hatori cleared his throat to get their attention again before filling in the blanks, "Now that all of the Sohmas know the truth, they refuse to follow Akito anymore, thus the breaking of the curse. But a family of this size, with this much history, needs a leader; a family head. The fact that Kyo was born with the curse of the cat proves that he is the one with the most claim to that title. It should have been his all along. After learning the truth, the other Sohmas are ready to accept Kyo as the head of the family. But first, he has to decide if he wants that title."

Kyo glanced around at the other people in the room. They were all staring expectantly back at him. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt more on the spot. To hide his nerves, he gazed down at his left hand, still holding Tohru's right. He remained silent for a long time. He didn't know what to say. It was such a big decision and the weight of it was still so new. The idea that he, the disowned cat, could now rise above all the others, was so foreign. It hadn't had time to sink in.

Kyo didn't notice how long he had been in contemplation until he heard Tohru's voice, sympathetic and concerned, speaking his name, "Kyo?"

"I have been thinking about it," he answered at last, meeting Hatori's eyes, "but I don't have an answer yet. The choice is still too new; to big."

Hatori nodded, "I understand"

"I want to talk it over with Master, first. And you, Tohru."

Tohru looked surprised but Hatori merely nodded again, "Kazuma's been waiting to see you as it is. Shall I send him in?"

"Yeah."

"Very well," said Hatori as he turned with Aiko and headed back toward the door, "Kazuma will be here in a moment. We'll leave so that the three of you can discuss this in private."

When Hatori and Aiko had gone, Kyo turned to Tohru, "So, what do you think I should do? Should I become the head of the family or not?"

"I can't tell you what to do," Tohru told him, "You need to follow your heart. I will support any decision you make and I'll be here for you to talk to, but you have to make this decision yourself."

Kyo opened his mouth to reply but, at that moment, Kazuma walked in and Kyo's mouth clamped shut again. There were two reasons Kyo's replied died on his lips. First, his had meant for his reply to be for Tohru's ears only and second, the expression on Kazuma's face shocked him into momentary silence. He had never seen such a look of mingled concern and relief on his adopted father's face before. It matched the expression Tohru had been wearing when he had come to. Kyo briefly wondered if he had ever been the object of so much concern before in his life.

Before Kyo could get his mouth open again, Kazuma spoke up, "I'm so glad both of you are okay. The two of you had me pretty worried there for awhile. Try not to do anything like that again, okay?"

"Sorry, Master," Kyo mumbled, purely out of habit.

Kazuma let out a laugh at that then shook his head in a reproving manner, "Really, Kyo. I think it's about time you stopped calling me Master. You've always been more to me than one of my students. You are my son, Kyo. You wanted to make me proud to tell the world I'm your dad. You've done that. It's okay for you to call me Dad, if you want to. It would make me very happy. Besides, with the position I hear you've been offered, it doesn't seem fitting for you to be calling anyone Master."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Being offered the title of head of the family I mean, not what to call you."

"I thought maybe that was it," replied Kazuma.

"I don't know what to do," Kyo spoke honestly, "Part of me is really excited. It's everything I wanted my whole life, and then some. I've always wanted this family to accept me. Now, not only are they welcoming me, they want me to lead them. I know I should be happy and honored, and I am, but…well I guess part of me feels like there is some mistake. I don't want to accept this position and then have everyone regret letting me take it. Have them regret allowing me into the family would be ten times worse than not being allowed. I'm just…I guess I'm…well, scared."

"It's normal to be scared," Kazuma and Tohru answered in unison. Kazuma bowed to Tohru, knowing that the words would mean more coming from her. She thought for a minute, "It's normal to be scared when you make a big decision. You are the one who told me that it's okay to be afraid. It means you're seeing the real situation, just like I saw the real you. I know you, Kyo. If the Sohmas ever regret letting you into their family, the problem is with them, not with you. And if you choose to become the head of the family, it can't be a mistake. It would be correcting a mistake made long ago. The position is rightfully yours, if you want it. If you don't, they'll figure out something else."

Kyo gave her a small smile, "You said you would support any decision I made, right? Will you also stay with me; by my side, no matter what decision I make?"

"Of course," Tohru replied with a shy smile. She understood the meaning behind the question.

"Okay, then," declared Kyo, turning to Kazuma, "I think I'm gonna do it."


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: As always, I own absolutely nothing.

A/N: Well, here it is. I think this might be the last chapter of this story (but I'm not completely sure). I hope you enjoy it.

**Shadows of Intrigue**

**Chapter 26**

It didn't take nearly as long as Tohru would have expected. Within a couple of days preparations had begun to move Kyo into position as the head of the family. Hatori had said that the quicker they could make the necessary arrangements, the better it would be. Tohru was talking with Kyo about this a few days after he had made his decision, "I would have thought they would want to wait to make everything official until you finished high school. I mean, it's not that long."

"Well, Hatori says it will cause the least disruption to everyone else's lives to make the change as quickly as possible. And I don't have to drop out of school or anything. It won't really change much except that it gives me a lot more power in the family. That, and I'll be moving," Kyo replied with a shrug.

"But won't you be really lonely?" asked Tohru, "You'll be living in that big house all by yourself, won't you?"

"Well, I invited Kazuma to come live there. I think he's kind of tempted but it would take him away from his dojo. But, um, even if he comes, I was kind of hoping that, um, maybe you would agree to come. You did say that you wanted to stay together," Kyo added the last part rather hastily.

Tohru just stared at him for a moment and Kyo began to fear that she would turn down his offer. Then a smile slowly broke out on her face, "You want me to come to the main house with you? Oh, of course. This is so exciting. No. Wait. What about Shigure and Yuki?"

I suppose they can come if they want. If they don't want to, I'll work something out for them. Maybe they could hire Kagura or something. Or Rin. She hasn't been having a great time at home lately. Or, maybe, now that the curse is broken, Shigure will run off and marry that annoying editor of his."

Tohru looked surprised at this. Kyo gave her a strange look in return, "Oh, come on! Don't tell me you haven't noticed it. Even I can see that the two of them are interested in each other."

"I kind of noticed," admitted Tohru, "It just kind of surprises me that you did, too. It's not the kind of thing that a lot of guys pay attention to."

"It's kind of hard not to notice when the two of them are together," Kyo grumbled.

Tohru sweatdropped, "Yeah, I guess you have a point. Oh, I heard that Hatori and Aiko are already becoming a serious couple. It makes me happy to hear that. Hatori deserves to be happy. He's been through a lot. I'm glad he gets a happy ending."

Now Kyo's face grew red as a blush crept across his features, " And what about you and me? Are we going to have a happy ending , too?"

"I would like that. I meant it when I told you I that I love you. I also meant it when I said I would stay by your side. For as long as you want me to, maybe longer."

"No, not longer" Kyo told her with and unusual tenderness in his voice, "because I there will never be a time that I won't want you by my side. I love you, too, you know."

"Then I will stay by your side forever and for always," Tohru said with a huge grin.

"Well then," mumbled Kyo, "Can I ask you something else?"

Tohru nodded.

"When we finish high school, do you want to get married? To me, I mean."

Tohru's eyes grew wide with surprise and then filled with tears. Kyo momentarily thought he had done something wrong until he saw the smile beneath the overflowing eyes. Tohru launched herself at him, trying to throw her arms around him while still being careful of both their wounds. She was semi-successful. They both ended up wincing, but neither seemed to mind that much. They were alive, together, and happy. And they finally could embrace. It was hard for either to imagine things getting better than that moment.

The months that followed that moment showed them that things could indeed get better. There were a few rough patches, to be sure, but for the most part, neither Kyo nor Tohru could remember a time in their lives when they were happier.

When they settled into the main house, Kazuma agreed to join them until their marriage, to avoid any rumors of a scandalous nature. They had invited Yuki and Shigure to join them as well but both had declined. Yuki declined on account of the bad memories he had of the main house. He had spent his whole life trying to escape and now that he finally could, he wasn't about to go back. Shigure's response hadn't gone over very well with Kyo. He had stated that he preferred his quiet, country living before adding, with a wink, "Besides, a nice, happy young couple such as yourselves, don't need an old man like me hanging around. I wouldn't want to be in the way, now."

In reply, Kyo had turned about twelve shades of red before finally exploding, "YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Their day to day lives had not changed much. Shigure and Yuki had hired a new housekeeper. At the main house, Tohru continued to do most of the cooking and cleaning and refused to give up her part time job. She and Kyo continued to go to high school. Even the time spent at home wasn't drastically different. Sure the location had changed and they were living with Kazuma instead of Shigure and Yuki but the basic routine was the same. Now that the curse had been broken, Kyo's responsibilities as head of the family weren't as great or as time-consuming as he had feared they would be. Many nights, after dinner, he and Tohru would still sit up on the roof and gaze at the stars together.

Some activities did change as the young couple prepared for college entrance exams and started planning for their wedding (the announcement of which had taken all their friends and most of their family by surprise). Neither had ever gotten so much advice (good and bad) as they were receiving about their wedding. That was a bit new as well.

Perhaps the biggest difference, though, was the deep, heartfelt sense of happiness both were feeling. They had been through their share of hard times in the past and neither could ever be entirely sure about what the future held, but in the end it didn't really matter. They were together. They could face anything. With that confidence in each other as their support and guide, they were able to put their worries aside and blissfully plan for a long and happy future together.


	27. Author's Note

Hey everyone. I know it's been a long time since I've posted. I've been so swamped. But I am working on two new fics now. One is a sequel to Shadows of Intrigue and the other is my first attempt at a Chrno Crusade fic. So, I hope you'll read them and enjoy them.


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